Plastic Marriage
by TheLemonAlchemist
Summary: My family is coming to visit me in NY, and my mother is worried about me living alone. I assure her that I'm not, in fact, I have a fiance...When in reality I don't even have a boyfriend. Pietro decides to volunteer for the idea of me having a pretend fiance for the month my family will be visiting. Will it work, or will the lie blow up in my face?
1. The Lie

**Ok well this idea as inspired by this post on tumblr, I have been writing more Avengers related stuff, so I thought this would be a fun idea, let me know what you think ^_^. (Also I know I usually don't post XOC stories, since I like XReaders more. But in later chapters, it might turn a bit more personal, so I felt like XOC would fit it more)  
**

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So here I sat, in the Avengers tower, sipping on a cup of coffee, and staring into space. My thoughts ran wild though, mostly with what I had just told my mother.

"Well you look like a ray of sunshine today" Natasha stated as she sat beside me on the couch.

"What is the matter?" Wanda asked as she sat on the other side of me.

"Nothing...Just thinking" I replied, taking another sip and looking down at your cup.

"You know that I know it is not nothing" Wanda said with a small smile, dang her mind reading powers.

"I may have lied to my mom...On the phone...Just a few minutes ago" I confessed.

"Why did you lie?" Steve asked, it was only then that I remembered that I was in the main room, with everyone.

"Because my parents can go to extremes about some things" I stated with a sigh.

"So what was the lie?" Natasha asked.

"Well" I started

"My mother asked if I was living alone here in New York. I told her no, and before I could say anything else, she said that my cat didn't count as another person" I added, earning a stifled laugh from most of the guys.

"So where does the lie come in?" Bruce asked

"I told her that I wasn't talking about my cat...I was talking about a guy...My fiance" I replied, ducking my head.

"But you don't even have a boyfriend" Pietro said with a chuckle.

"Thank you speedy, as if I didn't know. I panicked ok, my mom is the type that gets really worried really quickly, I didn't want her to start saying I needed to come home...Or worse"

"What is worse?" Wanda asked.

"My brothers like to try and set me up with their friends...Or random guys they think would be a good match for me" I stated.

"Well they all live in Florida, so it's not like you have anything to worry about" Tony smile.

"Actually" I stated, earning everyone's attention.

"Actually?" Clint asked

"They are coming to visit...Their plane lands in a few hours" I confessed.

"Oh...That's..." Natasha muttered.

"Ok, so just find a guy to play pretend fiance for, how ever long your family is going to be here" Tony suggested, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Sure let me just go pluck a guy off the street for a month" I chuckled.

"Not some random guy, I'll do it" He added with a smile.

"Nice try Tony, but everyone knows you and Pepper are a thing" I told him.

"Well then how about Capsicle here? Parents love old fashioned guys right?" Tony said, putting is hand on Steve's shoulder, who almost immediately started stammering and blushing.

"Guys thanks, but I don't think-"

"I'll do it" A voice spoke, causing the room to quiet.

"The guy who just laughed cause I don't have a boyfriend? Thanks I'll pass" I said standing up.

"Hey, it was joke, besides" He stated before appearing in front of me.

"Parents love me" He said with a smirk, before I pushed past him while rolling my eyes. Truth be told, out of all of the Avengers, Pietro was probably the only one my family would actually buy as my fiance. I ran it over in my head, could I pull this off? It was only a month, I could get through playing engaged with Pietro for that long right?

Then the two of us could go about our lives again, me living comfy in my apartment with my cat, and him...Doing whatever he does. Yeah, it could work, I suppose. Turning, I was met with hopeful blue eyes staring into my own green ones, sighing, I nodded.

"Ok, but we are going to have to make this convincing Pietro" I stated.  
In a flash, my body was against his while his arms wrapped around my frame.

"I can make it very convincing printsessa" He smiled.


	2. Meeting the family

I am honestly shocked that this story has gotten such love lol. So I finished up chapter 2 for everyone (I had written half of it last night). I hope you all enjoy it, this one is quite a bit longer than the others. I changed my family's name, and pretty much combined all 3 of my past relationships for this story. **And this is just a headcanon for me, but I feel like, even though Pietro likes to tease people, (and I could see him playing pranks) I feel like he would highly respect parents and family, like, that is one thing that would put him on his best behavior.** Also! The gummy bear thing is a reference to pietroimagines's story _The Personal Trainer_ on tumblr which I highly recommend to everyone, cause it is awesome ^_^.

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"See, everything will be fine" Tony said raising his glass before taking a drink.

"Ok so my family will be here in a few hours, we better get our stories straight" I told Pietro while wiggling out of his grip, getting used to pda stuff would take a bit for me.

"I think you might want to look for an accessory, or this lie won't go over" Natasha stated, confusing me, that is, until she pointed to her ring finger.

"Oh...Crap right, um...I think I have a ring in my room I could pass off as an engagement ring" I replied, about to turn around.

"I don't think the winding machine ring will work" Clint laughed.

"Well then I'm screwed" I sighed.

"No worries, one ring coming up" Tony said, pulling up a website.

"Wait a minute, I'm her fiance, I should pick it out" Pietro said, suddenly standing beside Tony.

"Guys, I can just pick a ring up at the store for like eight bucks" I sighed.

"Shhh, let them buy you jewelry" Natasha teased with a smile.

"I have to agree, if they are willing, what is the harm?" Wanda added with a small laugh.

"Alright" I said laughing as well before sitting in between the girls again, I watched as Tony and Pietro argued over rings, I couldn't help but shake my head at them, they acted like this was all real. It was just an act so my parents wouldn't worry so much, so I could then go about my life...All an act...

"Why am I suddenly nervous?" I whispered.

"Cause you're not used to being in a relationship, fake or not" Natasha replied.

"Maybe this is a bad idea, maybe I should just come clean" I sighed, I was never good about lying to my parents after all.

"It will be ok, nervous is normal" Wanda told me.

"It is ordered" Pietro stated, walking over to us with a smile.

"How long?" Natasha asked

"About an hour" Tony replied, before adding.

"I also ordered dinner, that will be here a lot quicker though, at least I hope"

A couple hours later, I was dressed and ready to leave for the airport, which, lucky for me, was only a ten minute drive.

"Where is Pietro?" I asked while walking back into the living area and not seeing my "fiance" anywhere.

"Someone was at the door so he went to get it" Steve replied.

"Oh ok, well I'm off to pick of the family, later everyone" I waved, hearing everyone say their goodbyes.

"Oh! There you are printsessa, look what just arrived" Pietro said with a smile once I got to the front door, I watched as he opened the small velvet box and showed off the, what I figured must have a been really expensive, ring.

"Whoa" I said, honestly speechless, it was true that I had been "engaged" before, though it was taken with a grain of salt by most, as we were both young, but that ring had nothing on this one.

"Do you like it?" Pietro asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Ya...I'm not usually one for a lot of bling but..Wow" I said, which caused him to laugh.

"I'm glad printsessa, it was on a site where you could design your own" He said, slipping the ring onto my finger effortlessly, I watched as his hand lingered, the impact of what we were playing suddenly hit me...As did his words.

"Wait...You came up with this yourself?" I asked, shocked a bit.

"You didn't see that coming?" he joked, causing me to hit his arm playfully.

"Really? I honestly thought we were having a moment, than you went and ruined it" I laughed before opening the door.

"Come on, we gotta get to the airport" I made my way to my SUV, everyone always asked why I had such a big car, yet never complained when they all wanted to go somewhere, since Tony's sports cars were too small.

The ride to the airport was filled with small talk, mostly twenty questions type talk.

"Ok your favorite color is red" Pietro stated, to which I shook my head.

"But you wear it all the time, almost as much as Wanda" He stated.

"That's cause it looks good with my hair" I said, shaking my reddish orange hair around.

"My favorite color is black" I smiled.

"That isn't a color though" He laughed

"Well when they make a color darker, that will be my favorite" I smiled.

"Ok, what is my favorite color?" He asked, I acted like I was thinking for a moment, before peeking over at him with a smirk.

"Silver?" I joked.

"Oh ha ha printsessa, very funny" He said shaking his head.

"I know, I'm a riot" I laughed, before adding.

"Blue" The car was quiet for a minute before he sighed.

"Right" Pietro honestly seemed a bit down that I knew him more than he knew me.

"Ok favorite sweets?" He asked.

"That is a trick question Pietro, you like anything sweet" I laughed while parking the car and getting out.

"Very true, and your favorite is Chocolate" He smiled, appearing next to me and grabbing my hand, I fought the urge to remove the contact, he was my "fiance" after all.

"Right" I smiled

"How did you know?" I asked as we entered the airport, I began looking at the boards to figure out which gate they would arrive at.

"I have seen you around Halloween" He laughed.

"Hey! I'm not that bad" I pouted before turning and heading towards gate ten.

"You almost took Tony's hand off because he reached for a reese's cup" He laughed.

"I told him not to mess with my reese's, those are the only candy I warn people not to touch" I defended.

"I thought it was butterfingers, according to the television" he joked.

"Ya I need to make a commercial that says Don't lay a finger on my Reese's" I laughed.

"And hey, I have seen you with gummy bears sir" I said with a smirk, earning a laugh from him.

"There's my Lizzie Bee!" I heard behind me, blushing at the nickname.

"Hey mom!" I smiled, hugging her tightly.

"Hey Harry!" I smiled, hugging my stepfather.

"And it's good to see you too bros" I laughed, hugging my oldest brother, before fistbumping my other brother, who wasn't a big fan of human contact either.

"And who is this?" My mother asked with a smile while eyeing Pietro.

"Guys, this is Pietro Maximoff, my fiance" I smiled while standing beside Pietro.

"Pietro, this is my mother Willow, my stepfather Harry, and two of my brothers, Marcus and Connor" I told him.

"Very nice to meet you all, Ellie has told me a lot about you" He said with a smile while shaking the boy's hands, and kissing the back of my mother's, making her blush slightly.

"Well then, we have a lot of catching up to do on our side" Marcus laughed.

"We didn't even know about you until this afternoon" Connor added.

'Come on guys, really? Big brother mode activated already?' I mentally groaned.

"Ah yes, I am sorry, we have tried to keep it hidden for a bit, press and all" Pietro smiled, wow, ok he was way better at this than me.

"Press? I didn't know you were that involved with the Avengers and all" My mom asked looking at me.

"I'm not, I mean, I help them out still, when they need it, and they are my friends but..."

"The press would be on my end, as an Avenger" Pietro added, grabbing my hand and running his thumb along the back of it. Why was it becoming so hard to pull off this lie? Breath Ellie.

"Oh my, I didn't know you were an Avenger, wait you were actually able to land an Avenger?" My mother asked.

"Why is that so shocking?" I asked, laughing slightly, Pietro on the other hand, thought it was very funny.

"Don't laugh speedy" I said, playfully hitting him.

"Speedy?" My stepdad asked as we started towards the parking lot. Before I could even blink, Pietro was gone, only to return a second later handing my mother and I a rose from the free stand at the other end of the airport. My family stared at him for a moment, jaws slack, I couldn't help but laugh, and Pietro grabbed my hand once more.

"Well I bet that comes in handy for cleaning" My mother laughed.

"Ok, someone just beat out any chance you had for the cool scale sis" Marcus joked.

"Sorry" I said sarcastically, before adding.

"I don't have powers, I have guns and knives"

"She does not need them, she is powerful enough as she is" Pietro laughed.

"Yeah, and he has seen me in battle so nyeh" I said, sticking my tongue out at my brother, causing Pietro to laugh again while he opened the door for me, before opening the passenger door for my mom.

"And a gentleman, hang onto this one" My mom smiled at me once she sat down. I watched as Pietro climbed in beside Marcus, Connor and Harry getting into the row behind them.

I waited until everyone was buckled up, and began the drive back, glancing at the address they gave me...Wait a minute.

"This is my building" I said glancing over at my mother.

"Yup, we found a few really cheap apartments we could buy. I love that your building has a buy or rent option" My mother replied with a smile.

"Yeah, it's really great" I smiled, though mentally I was freaking out, Pietro didn't live with me after all.

"So, how long have you two been going together?" My mom asked

"A year" I answered, but I heard a different answer behind me.

"Six months" The car went quiet, I glanced at Pietro in the mirror to see he was just as panicked as I was, crap, we didn't figure this out beforehand.

"A year and six months" I replied before adding.

"You know me, I don't really count months, just years" I laughed

"Wow, this is the longest relationship you have been in" Marcus laughed.

"Really?" Pietro asked, honestly shocked.

"Yeah, before this, the longest was like, only a month I believe" Connor added.

"Wasn't that the one you were engaged to?" Harry asked.

"Printsessa you never told me you were engaged before" Pietro said, actually sounding a bit hurt.

"I think you guys just let a cat out of the bag" My mother said, before adding.

"Don't worry sweety, they were young. She was eighteen, he was twenty, and like Harry said, they only dated for about a month before he purposed"

"It was only four years ago?" Pietro asked

"Yes, but I knew it wouldn't happen" My mother stated.

"How?" He asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Well...It in the beginning it was fine, he was happy, she was happy. Then he started to get controlling, telling her that she couldn't talk to her male friends, or her lesbian friends. Meanwhile he would talking to countless girls online" My mother scoffed.

"Needless to say, I am very happy her taste in men has improved dramatically" My mother said, turning, and smiling at Pietro.

"Why thank you" He smiled.

"And can I just say that I adore you accent, where are you from?"

"Sokovia"

"Didn't know you had been to Eastern Europe before Liz" Marcus said.

"Only once, on a mission" I replied, pulling up into the parking lot.

"Is that how you two met?" Connor asked as we all got out.

"Actually, yes" I replied, glad I didn't have to lie for once.

"She never left my bedside, until I was well" Pietro smiled as he helped us carry their bags inside.

"Bedside? You were injured?" My mother asked.

"Da, shot multiple times, they didn't know if I would make it" He stated.

"Oh my God" My mother gasped.

"Myself and were assigned to monitor him" you replied.

"And you survived? That's hardcore" Marcus laughed, while we made our way the rooms, which just happen to be at the end of the same hall as mine.

"Ok I gotta see it" My mother said turning excitedly to me.

"See what?" I asked confused.

"The ring duh" she replied, grabbing my hand.

"Oh my God" She said, her eyes widening.

"And here I thought you weren't one for bling" She teased.

"She's not, I wanted to spoil her though, so I designed it" Pietro said, coming up and hugging me from behind. My body stiffened on it's own, before I willed myself to relax.

"You designed it?" That is so sweet" My mother gushed, while I heard the boys stifle a laugh at my mother.

"Da, a friend of ours showed me this website. The blue ones are Tanzanite, that is my favorite stone. And the one in the middle is Rose Quartz, since she is always wearing this" He said pulling my rose quartz necklace up by the string, his other hand never left mine.

"That is awesome, even the ring is the both of you, you definitely found a keeper girl" My mother smiled, causing me to blush.

"Ya, I sure did" I laughed, before feeling Pietro lean over and kiss my cheek, causing the blush to darken even more.

"Well we better let you guys get some rest, it's been a long day I'm sure" I stated.

"Right, we'll hang out more tomorrow" My mother said, hugging me, before hugging Pietro.

"Night everyone" Pietro and I called before exiting the room, though not before I heard Connor yell.

"And try not to be loud, I don't wanna hear my little sister having sex"

"CONNOR!" I yelled, my face now completely red.

"I cannot make any promises" Pietro yelled back, earning a laugh from my brothers.

"Oh my God move!" I stated, pushing Pietro away from the door.

"You are just as bad as them" I sighed and shook my head.

"Is it bad that I get along with your brothers?" He asked, still chuckling.

"No...But"

"We are just teasing you printsessa" he smiled, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

"I know" I sighed.

"Well I think that went really well" He added

"Yeah, I guess it did" I smiled, honestly happy it didn't blow up in my face...Yet.

"Well, Goodnight Pietro" I said, opening my door, before feeling his hand slide to my waist.

"Printsessa, if they come over in the middle of the night, and I'm not there, won't they get suspicious?" He asked, his voice right next to my ear.

"T-They won't come over" I replied, mentally hitting myself for stuttering, and hoping he didn't notice. But the smile I felt against my skin told me he had, as he lightly kiss my neck, before pulling away.

"Just to be sure, maybe I should spend the night" He smirked, I stared at him for a moment, debating on if I should let him or not. He made a good case, but I hadn't had anyone in my bed in four years...Though...He doesn't have to sleep in my bed.

"Fine" I sighed

"But you're sleeping on the couch"

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 **So there it is! Let me know what you all think ok ^_^. I'll try to have chapter 3 up soon. I am about to be getting busy though, what with Thanksgiving and family coming**


	3. Good Morning

**Ok here it is guys and gals! the third part of Plastic Marriage! Once again, I am honestly shocked by how many people have been asking me when I would have the next part of the story out lol. I love you all.**

 **I would like to state that I used google translate, so if any of them are wrong, I do apologize, sadly I do not speak Russian.**

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My eyes slowly slid open as the sunlight fell in streaks across my bed, what time was it?

 _'Ten? Usually I don't sleep this late'_ I thought with a yawn.

 _'I should get up'_ I told myself, but the warmth was too pleasant to escape from, and I found my body unconsciously moving towards it.

 _'I could get used to this each morning'_ I smiled to myself, resting my hand atop the sheets...And something else. My eyes slid open once more while I looked down, only to realize that the warmth I had been feeling, was body heat. I could feel the blush rise to my cheeks as I followed the arm, soon turning, and coming face to face with a sleeping Pietro.

I was about to say something, wake him up and demand to know why he had snuck into my bed...But he actually looked, rather peaceful. Wanda had told me before, about the nightmares that Pietro often had. She said he would wake up drenched in sweat, panting, and not being able to go back to sleep for the rest of the night. I felt so bad for him, I had nightmares, but nothing that bad.

So seeing him as he was now, sleeping peacefully, for once. I couldn't bring myself to wake the man. So instead, I laid there, listening to his soft breaths. My hand reached up to slide a stray lock away from his face, fingers gently touching his skin, which earned a tightened grip on my waist. Fearing that I was waking him, I stopped, my hand inches from his skin, my eyes scanning his face for any indication that he was no longer asleep.

When I saw none, my fingers moved on their own, running from his temple to his jaw. In all honesty, like this, Pietro was actually rather...Breathtaking...

 _'Wait...What?!'_ My mind screamed.

 _'No no no, no Ellie! This whole thing between you is fake, it's not real, do NOT get attached!'_ My mind added, breaking me of my trace.

"Not real" I whispered as I looked back at Pietro, he shifted at the sound of my voice, his head coming to nuzzle my neck while his arm brought me closer.

"Dobroye utro krasoty _(Morning Beauty)_ " I heard him whispered in my ear, his voice was still rough with sleep, and I couldn't stop the shiver it sent though me.

"tebe kholodno? YA mogu sogreyet, yesli vam nravitsya _(are you cold? I can warm you up if you like)_ " He spoke, pulling me in even closer before kissing my neck.

"P-Pietro stop" I said, once again hitting myself for stuttering.

"chto, yesli ya ne khochu , chtoby? _(What if I do not want to?)_ " He asked, repeating his actions.

"I have no idea what you said, but shtap it" I told him again, a small smile on my face as I looked over at him.

"Very well printsessa" He replied, unwrapping his arms while he stretched, I took the opportunity to move to the other side of the bed, earning a pout from him.

"Why are you in my bed in the first place?" I asked

"It was cold on the couch...And lonely" He replied, pout still in place. I simply rolled my eyes at the man.

"Whatever, do you wanna get ready first? I will probably use more hot water than you" I told him, gesturing towards the bathroom.

"We could always save water and go in together" He replied with a smirk and a wink.

"N-No, geeze" I stated, looking away from him as I blushed once more.

"Ok Ok, I'll go first" He said, quickly leaning up and kissing my cheek before getting off the bed, I looked over at him, ready to glare for the action, but instead my eyes widened a bit. I had never been around when Pietro trained, as he usually trained with Steve, so I didn't know he was quite so...Built. And with his sleeping attire only being sweatpants...

"Like what you see printsessa?" I heard him chuckle.

"Go take a shower" I stated, quickly looking away from him.

"As you wish" He said, still laughing before making his way into the other room. How was I going to deal with him living with me for a whole month? Groaning, I buried my face in the pillow.

"You went back to sleep moya lyubov' _(my love)_ " I heard a voice whisper beside me, causing me to stir. Opening my eyes, I was met with piercing blue ones.

"You make it difficult not to crawl back in bed with you" he chuckled, before kissing my forehead and standing up again.

"I don't do mornings" I yawned while standing, and stretching.

"I can see, we can always have a lazy day" He smiled, grabbing my waist and pulling me close, mid stretch.

"Nice try" I replied, trying to get out of his grasp.

"You always try that" he said, a hint of hurt in his voice.

"Try what?" I asked, though I knew what he was referring to.

"Try to get away, every time I hold you" He stated, his arms falling from my waist.

"I just...I'm not used to contact like that" I told him, turning and gathering clothes. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by his phone ringing. Rolling his eyes, he answered. I could already tell it was Tony simply due to the face he was making.

"Da I'll be right there" He sighed, before hanging up.

"Mission?" I asked, this was normal, Pietro was an Avenger, he went on a lot more missions than I did, totally normal...So why did I suddenly feel...Scared.

"Da, just a recon, Captain needs me" He smirked.

"It won't take long" He added, his hand coming to rest on my hip.

"Nothing with you ever does" I joked, watching as he dipped close to my ear, whispering.

"Unless I want it to last" I felt another shiver run through me, but quickly suppressed it, though, from the smirk on his lips, he felt it anyways.

"Be careful" I mumbled, looking away.

"I always am printsessa" He smiled, leaning down and kissing my cheek, before heading to the door. I leaned against the door frame, watching as he sped off, I was unsure how long I stood there, before I heard a voice snap me out of my thoughts.

"He'll be back" Looking over, I saw Natasha standing there with a smile.

"I-I know that...I'm not worried" I stated.

"Sure you aren't, that's why you're playing with the ring right?" He asked, I quickly looked down to realize that I was indeed spinning the ring around. Letting go of it, I looked back at Natasha.

"What's up?"

"Nothing much, just wondering if you wanted to go shopping" She shrugged.

"Sure, let me take a quick shower first" I told her, letting her in.

"The couch doesn't look very slept in" Natasha noted.

"Yeah, that's cause sometime in the middle of the night, he snuck into my bed" I stated, grabbing a towel.

"I didn't know the relationship was moving that fast" she teased.

"It's not" I quickly answered, being met with her amused smile.

"I'm going to go take a shower.

Upon exiting the shower I heard a conversation and laughter in the living room, quickly getting dressed, I was greeted with the site of my mother and Marcus joking around with Natasha.

"Well I see you three have met" I said, walking up behind them.

"Oh you're out" Natasha said, turning to look at me.

"So what are your plans for the day?" I asked my mom, sitting next to Natasha.

"I don't have any, the boys are going to go see a game" She replied.

"Which reminds me, yeah it's about time to go. It was nice meeting you Natasha" Marcus said standing up.

"Likewise" Natasha replied with a smile.

"Later Goober, later mom" He added, before making his way out.

"Goober, like the candy?" Natasha asked me.

"I honestly don't know, he's called me that since we were kids" I shrugged.

"So, Willow, how would you like to go shopping with us?" Natasha asked, turning back to my mom.

"I'd love to" She replied with a smile.

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 **So there it is! Part 3! I hope you all enjoyed it ^_^. Part 4 will be the shopping trip where there will be some funny and embarrassing moments lol.**


	4. The shopping trip

**Here it is everyone! Part 4!**

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"So you were around them when they first met…Well…When Pietro first woke up?" My mother asked Natasha as we browsed through what felt like the tenth clothing store in the mall.

"I was, it was quite the wake up for him I believe" She replied, glancing at me with a smirk, I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks at the memory.

"What do you mean?" My mother asked, laughing a bit.

"Well, he wouldn't believe anyone when they told him he had survived" She stated, to which my mother gave her a puzzled look.

"He kept swearing that he must be dead, because there was an angel right in front of him" She finished, not being able to hold back her own laughter.

"His first attempt at flirting I suppose" I stated, pulling a dress off the rack, before putting it right back.

"It must have worked" My mother added.

"Actually no, even after that she still wasn't having any of his flirtatious ways" Natasha replied.

"Well it's nice to see she let someone in, I was afraid she might not let anyone past her walls" My mother sighed.

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked.

"I just don't trust a lot of people, in our line of work, can we?" I stated, heading for the door.

"She's right, with what we do, it's hard to" Natasha told my mother as they followed me out.

"Well I'm just glad she trusted someone enough to let herself fall in love" My mother stated with a smile, before her smile turned into a smirk.

"Oooooh Lizzie" She drew out, while pointing to another shop, looking up at the sign, my eyes widened.

"Oh no, no no no no no no"

"Oh come on! If nothing else, it will be for your wedding night" she said with a wink, before entering the shop.

"I like your mom, she's fun" Natasha said beside me, before entering the shop herself. Groaning, I knew I had no choice.

Victoria Secret was no where near my kind of store, I was never one to think that bras and panties had to be pretty, or cute, or have frills and bows on them. They were under clothes, and I didn't have any plans on anyone seeing that much of my body.

"Oo what about this one?" My mother asked holding up what I would hardly call coverage.

"I like the style, but I think we need a different color" Natasha noted.

"Yeah she's never been one for pink" My mom nodded.

"Kill me now" I sighed, going to stand in an empty corner to hope death would be swift and soon.

"Oh come on" Natasha said while grabbing my arm.

"How about this one?" She asked, placing me in front of a mirror, and placing a white baby doll lingerie in front of my body. it was a rather see-through lace, with ruffles along the bottom, and bows at the straps. Part of me wanted to push it away, to tell her to put it back while I left but…Part of me actually thought that…I actually looked good, beautiful for once, and dare I even say…Sexy.

"Quickly shaking my head to break the thoughts, I stepped aside.

"That's ok" I smiled.

"Oh don't lie, I saw the look" Natasha smirked.

"Did she like it?" My mother asked, walking up to us.

"She loved it, she just doesn't want to admit it" Natasha replied.

"Yes! I was hoping she would, I found another baby doll style" She smiled, holding up a blue sheer lingerie, that had multiple vertical lines of ruffles running down it, and a bow in the middle of the bra.

"What do you think? I know you like blue better than pink" My mom laughed.

"It's pretty" I smiled.

"Isn't blue his favorite color?" Natasha asked, to which, my mother gasped, a smile on her face as she waited for me to answer.

"It is" I blushed.

"Then we are so getting this" She smiled.

"Mom" I said, my face now completely red.

"What? You're a grown woman, I'm not judging you. Hey if I were young again, and had a cute boy like that" She started

"Ok enough" I stated, holding my ears.

"I'm just saying" My mother smiled, before she grabbed the white lingerie and left for the counter.

"Oh yeah, you're mom is really fun" Natasha laughed while putting an arm around my shoulder.

"Kill me now" I sighed

"Not yet, we gotta get you back home to your fiance after all" she smirked, to which I glared.

"Should we see what else we can find ladies?" My mother asked, walking back to us, bag in hand.

"Yes Ma'am" Natasha smiled, leading us all out.

The next few shops we went in, were fine, I almost forgot about what was in the bag…That is, until my mother saw an familiar store.

"Oh my God, Liz! Spencers!" She cheered, grabbing my hand and pulling me inside. Now growing up, I came in the store every time we visited a few towns over, as it was the only mall near us that had one. I was always drawn to the jewelry, blacklights, and posters they had…But one part never ceased to make me blush…The adult section.

"How have I never been here before?" Natasha asked with a laugh.

"This is one of our favorite stores" My mother replied, browsing the earrings.

"Oh really?" Natasha said, looking to her left, no doubt noticing the adult section.

"I can see why" she laughed.

"Wanna spice things up in the bedroom?" She whispered, making me blush.

"Look Ellie, sex dice" she laughed, handing me the package.

"Oh my God no" I replied, handing them back.

"How about some fuzzy handcuffs then?" she winked.

"You aren't helping" I whispered

"I'm not trying to" she whispered back, giving me a wink.

"Oh come on, you need something to go with your new outfit, especially for when he returns from this trip" she smiled.

"You're right" My mother smiled, appearing next to us.

"Look, strip poker cards" she added, showing Natasha the deck.

"Can I go?"

"No" they both replied

"Tell you what, we will let you go look at other stuff, but, you have to pick out two things from this section first" Natasha said smiling.

"I think that is fair, don't you Willow?" she asked my mother.

"Perfectly fair Natasha" my mother replied.

"Seriously?" I whined, this was so embarrassing.

"Seriously" They both replied with smiles.

"Fine" I groaned, knowing I wouldn't be able to argue anymore, nor would I be able to out run Natasha if I tried. Looking through the section I could feel my cheeks getting warmer and warmer why did I have to get any of this stuff, it's not like I was going to have sex with anyone. Sighing, I wondered if I would be able to get through a month of this lie, I mean, my mother now thinks that Pietro and I are….That we're that far into a relationship. Though…

 _'I would be lying if I said I never thought of him that way'_ It was true, I had thought of him a few times in more than just a friendly way, I mean, how could a girl not? That accent alone would make any girl want to throw him down on a bed, and see what that accent sounded like as moans.

"Find anything?" Natasha asked suddenly, breaking me from my not so pure train of thought. Blinking, I looked at the items again, before quickly grabbing two and handing them to her.

"Handcuffs and a blindfold, Ellie, didn't know you were that kinky" she smirked, to which I just blushed and quickly went to a different section. Luckily the two didn't shop for much longer after that, and soon, we were leaving the store.

"So tell me more about when Liz and Pietro first met" My mom said while we all sat down with our plates in the food court.

"Well, Ellie always avoided him, I guess because he would constantly flirt" Natasha stated.

"Oh yeah, she's not to big on really flirtatious guys. She finds them untrustworthy" My mother stated.

"Oh is that what it was? I thought she just found it annoying" Natasha laughed.

"When you have dated a lot of guys that end up like that, it does get annoying" I stated, picking at my food.

"I have a feeling Ellie isn't very trusting due to something other than just out line of work though" Natasha stated, looking at me.

"No…I'm afraid that might be mine and her father's fault" My mother stated sadly.

"Well, he slacked off on the flirting after awhile…Somewhat anyways" Natasha noted, quickly changing the subject.

"I guess that was all it took" My mom smiled at me.

"Yup, that was all it took" I said, smiling back, before quickly going back to my food.

After that the conversation changed, thankfully. And before I knew it I found myself back at my building, saying goodbye to Natasha, and walking upstairs with my mother.

"I had a great time today" My mother said.

"Me too" I smiled.

"Good, I'm thought you might have been mad from Natasha and I teasing you so much, you know we only meant well" My mother replied, stopping at her door.

"I know mom, it's ok…I'm just not used to shopping for this…kind of stuff" I said, lifting the bags.

"I know, that was part of the fun of teasing you" she laughed, before hugging me.

"I'm just really happy that you found someone to make you happy" She stated, before pulling away.

"Love is a good look on you, you glow" she added.

"T-Thanks" I said blushing.

"Goodnight sweety" she smiled, hugging me once more.

"Night mom" I smiled back, watching as she went in her room.

 _'Love is a good look on you'_

 _'But I'm not in love, this is only a part I'm playing'_ I ranted in my head as I unlocked the door.

 _'A part, that in a month's time will be over, and my life will go back to the simple life it was'_ I concluded, walking in and laying the bags on the bed.

 _'Only a part'_

"YA skuchal po tebe _(I missed you)_ " I heard a voice whisper in my ear, while arms wrapped around my waist, pressing me against a broad chest.

"P-Pietro" I jumped slightly, not expecting him to be home.

"Da printsessa?" He smiled against my neck.

"I just didn't know you were home" I stated, my hands falling to his arms.

"I wanted to surprise you" he chuckled, before spinning me around.

"Surprise" He smiled, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, you got me, I'll admit it" I smiled.

"Good, I won, now…What is my prize?" he asked, leaning closer.

"I don't think that is how surprises work" I told him, leaning back, but that only caused him to lean forward more.

"I'm changing the rules a bit" he shrugged, before we both fell back on the bed.

"I don't think you are allowed to do that" I laughed, opening my eyes to look at him, but noticing his gaze was elsewhere. Following it, my face paled. The bags had fallen over when we fell, and the contents of both were half out.

"Uh…..That I can explain" I spoke, looking back at him, only to see a smirk having formed on his lips. In one quick motion he was off of me, and holding up the blue baby doll lingerie. His eyes flashed as he looked at the garment, before looking up at me.

"No, no no no" I stated, reaching for the lingerie, but he quickly stepped out of my grasp. Though now he held not only the lingerie, but also the Spencers bag.

"Printsessa" he breathed, looking into the bag.

"I never knew you were this naughty" he smirked.

"I-I'm not" I stated, sure that by now my cheeks were five different shades of red.

"My mom and Natasha made me buy them" I stated, looking away from him.

"Oh?" He stated, I glanced back to see he had some kind of card game in his hand.

"What is that?" I asked, quickly grabbing it, and almost facepalming.

"Ohgasm? Really guys? What the hell?" I stated.

"So did they make you buy this as well?" He asked, now back at the bed and holding the white lingerie.

"Yes, that is suppose…" I stopped

"Suppose to what?" he asked, brow raised at my hesitance.

"The white one I am suppose to wear…On our wedding night" I stated, whispering the last part. After all, the wedding night would never come.

 _'Only a part'_ my mind repeated.

"Well then" I heard beside me, before I felt the cards being lifted out of my hand, and heard them land in the bag once more. I watched as he opened my closet and sat both bags inside, before making his way over to me again.

"We will save it all for our wedding night" he smiled…Wait.

"But" I started, but he silenced me with a finger pressed lightly to my lips.

"You've had a long day" he laughed.

"Get some sleep printsessa" He smiled, leaning down and kissing my forehead before walking towards the couch, while I stood and headed for the bed. Stopping once I reached my side. My head spun, and for once, I didn't know what I was doing. I hated feeling this way, feeling like my mind and body were being torn in two different directions. I could already feel a headache, and heartache starting to form, and I did something I hoped I wouldn't regret…I spoke.

"Will you….Sleep with me again tonight?" I asked quietly. I heard the blanket he had been unfolding stop rustling, and for once the house was too quiet.

"Are you sure?" he asked after a minute, I simply nodded, soon hearing his footsteps approach the bed. My eyes were unfocused, but I saw the other side of the sheets lift, and I found myself crawling into my own side. Arms wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled into the warmth that I had woken up to, the calming warmth that my brain was telling me to fight, but my body gave into it, along with the sleep that overtook me.


	5. We're going to the zoo!

**Here it is! Chapter 5! This is the longest chapter I have written so far, but it was a lot of fun. A little more of past relationships, and childhood are relieved here. Also, yes the thing about the crypt keeper is true, and yes my brother honestly did that lol. And since I have never been to the Bronx zoo, I looked at the map and figured it out.**

 **But the dino part with the T-rex actually happened to me at Lowery Park Zoo when they had their Dino world thing lol. Anywho, a few people were asking for more flirty Pietro, so I hope this combo of sweety, silly, and flirty is ok ^_^. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

The rest of the week had went rather well, no one suspected anything, and I had even introduced my family to the rest of the avengers. But today marked the beginning of the second week, and though I would have loved for it to start out as just a lazy day in, sleeping until afternoon hours, my parents had other plans. The knocking came at about ten am, earning a groan from me while I snuggled more into the warmth. A warmth that had seemed to make it's home in my bed every night since my last request.

Hearing the knocking again, I sighed, about to get up before I felt my body being halted.

"I'll get it" Pietro's sleepy voice filled my ears, before my head hit the pillow once more. I could hear muffled talking, one pitch higher than the other.

 _'So it was mom'_ I concluded, before hearing the door shut, and footsteps return to the bed.

"What was that about?" I asked, still not moving, even when I felt him climb back in bed, though not laying down.

"You're mother invited us to go to the zoo with them today" He yawned while stretching.

"Oh did she?" I asked.

"She said that I should mention something about a Dinosaur Safari that they are having for the season" he added, his words causing me to finally open my eyes.

"There is a Dinosaur Safari?" I asked slowly, watching as a small smile made it's way to his lips.

"Da, but it's a limited time thing, this week is the last week she said" he stated, I was quiet for a moment, thinking it over, before a sigh escaped my lips.

"Dang that woman, she always knows how to get me" I replied, sitting up as well, and earning a laugh from him.

"So I take it our time in bed is up?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my neck.

"Sorry speedy, it seems so" I laughed.

"Too bad, I was very comfortable, and you looked very comfortable too" He smiled, kissing my neck before pulling away and getting up.

"I'll go first" He spoke, making his way to the bathroom.

 **—-**

The trip to the Bronx zoo wasn't that bad, only an hour away, and the car ride had been filled with laughter and stories…Even if some you wish hadn't been shared.

"What did he look like?" Pietro asked Marcus as everyone got out of the car.

"He was like somewhere between alive, and a skeleton" Marcus stated.

"And you were afraid of him?" Pietro asked me, a smile still on his face.

"Yes ok, the crypt keeper terrified me as a child" I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Didn't you put the figure you had of him on the door handle to your room once?" Connor asked Marcus, who in return began to laugh harder.

"She wouldn't go near the door, she just kept peeking around the wall crying"

"Awe printsessa" Pietro said while grabbing my hand and pressing a kiss to my head.

"It's ok, I used to pick on Wanda too" he stated

"Are all older brothers mean?" I asked

"We tease ya cause we love ya" Marcus said, messing up my hair.

"It's our job" Connor added with a smile.

"Ya ya, just don't forget that I remember you as a child too" I said, pointing at Marcus.

"Uh oh" Pietro laughed while Marcus's eyes widened.

"Ok children, lets go" My mother laughed before heading inside.

The first stop was Jungle World, and once inside, I turned on my camcorder.

"Ooooh Liz! Look at the black panthers" My mother gasped, I turned to see one laying on the tree right beside where I was standing.

"Suddenly glad there is glass" I laughed, panning over to the large cat. It's green eyes locked on mine before it yawned and went back to sleep.

"Oh to have a cat's life" I laughed

"That would be a good life" Pietro smiled

"Hey Liz, here's some Tapirs" Connor stated, I panned over to where he was pointing so that I could get a good shot of them.

"They are so cute" I smiled.

"That is cute?" I heard beside me.

"Yes that is cute" I stated, turning the camera to him so that I could lightly smack his arm.

"I have been called cute before, and I know I am cuter than that" he replied.

"Oh my God really?" I laughed

"Really" He smirked.

"Let's go" I said, shaking my head while moving forward, we walked for a little bit, before he spoke again.

"Huh"

"What?"

"I didn't know that Tony worked here" He stated, his face showed no sign of joking.

"What?" I asked, turning the camera on him again, I followed to where he was pointing, and couldn't hold back the laughter.

"Really P?" I asked in between laughed.

"Really, I did not know that" He stated, his face still serious. I panned to what he was pointing at…The Monkeys.

"He's gonna kill you if he sees this you know" I told him, turning the camcorder back on him.

"Well then let's make sure he doesn't see this" He smiled, sticking his tongue out before walking ahead. The other few things to see in the first part were fish, and fruit bats, which my mom was very excited to see. The next part was the African plains.

"Now what do you think, white with black stripes, or black with white stripes?" Connor asked as we looked at the Zebras.

"Both" Pietro and I said at the same time, before turning to look at each other.

"Ok, the lovebirds have spoken" Connor laughed and walked ahead.

"Here are some African wild dogs Liz" Harry stated.

"Doggies!" I smiled, about to run over there, before I stopped, and slowly turned around.

"You didn't just see that" I stated, but the grin on his face told otherwise.

"I did, and it was adorable printsessa" He smiled, kissing my cheek. I blushed and quickly made my way over to the dogs. As I filmed the dogs, I could hear Pietro and my brothers talking, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

"What are you three up to?" I asked the camcorder, as I snuck the camera angle back to them. Marcus was leaning against the railing, his arms crossed over his chest, entering the conversation every now and then while Pietro and Connor talked. The conversation didn't last too much longer, and I quickly went back to filming before I was caught.

"You're not very sneaky" I heard behind me as I felt arms wrap around my waist.

"dang it" I muttered, causing him to laugh.

"Soo….Why did my brother look almost…Mad?" I asked, turning around to face him, camcorder now off.

"He was just asking me some questions" he shrugged.

"Questions like?" I pried.

"Like why they never see us doing more than hand holding or cheek kisses" replied.

"Um….You would think they would be happy they didn't see more than that" I stated

"True, but, according to your brothers…You were a bit more…open to public affection before" He replied

"…Oh"

"They said they were just worried that part of you didn't trust me" He stated before adding.

"I thought you said you weren't used to that sort of contact"

"I…" I sighed, my hands resting on his arms, I guess he did deserve to know why I always shyed away from him.

"It's just…My ex and I were very open about our relationship yes…But sometimes…Sometimes I just felt like a piece of meat to him, like I was just arm candy or something" I explained.

"Well than, he was an idiot" He smiled, causing me to laugh.

"You are very beautiful yes" He started, a blush spreading across my cheeks at his words.

"But you are so much more than just arm candy printsessa" He finished.

"Thank you" I smiled.

"Perhaps…It does look a bit odd" I stated.

"I mean after all, we are suppose to be engaged" I added, looking up at him just in time to see something flash within his eyes, but before I could figure out what it was, it was gone.

"Exactly…Maybe we could…Practice" He smirked, his arms tightening around my waist, causing my body to press against his.

"Easy boy, I don't think we need to practice that" I laughed.

"Are you sure?" He smirked.

"Practice makes perfect" He spoke, his voice dropping while he leaned in closer.

"And we want our wedding night to be perfect don't we?" he asked, his lips just inches away from mine, I found myself unable to respond, my brain having gone blank, and my eyes closing on their own. His hot breath fanned my face, causing my heart to speed up…And for once…I didn't want him to stop. But he never moved, his lips never claimed those few inches. And before anything could happen, we heard someone clear their throat.

"Just cause we mentioned never seeing anything more than cheek kisses, didn't mean that we actually wanted to see more than that" Marcus stated. Pietro slowly backed up, his hands falling from my waist as he laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself" He smiled, holding his hand out for me. My heart was still pounding, but I slowly took his hand as he led me to where my family was.

 _'What the hell was that?'_ I yelled in my head, not at him, but at my own actions. I should have stopped him, I shouldn't have broken that easy, I actually…Wanted him to kiss me. My head spun, and I tried to focus on anything but the thoughts of what just happened.

"Look Liz" My mother spoke, breaking me from my trance. I followed her gaze while turning the camcorder back on. I watched as a lioness sat in the open, her eyes closed as her face was turned up to the sky. She was calm, relaxing.

Than I saw a male approach her, her eyes snapped to him, the look on her face showed hidden power, a warning for him to keep walking. He walked around her, making his way to another nearby female. Her eyes soon closed again, and she relaxed once more. I watched as another male approached her, though this time, she didn't move.

He nudged her head with his own, before licking it, than resting his head atop hers. His eyes slid closed as well, and they rested just like that.

"When a Lioness meets her Lion, all the house cats vanish" I said smiling at the pair.

"Who said that?" Harry asked, while I felt Pietro's arm wrap around my waist while he leaned on the railing beside me.

"Nerissa Irving" I replied, still filming the cats as they stood, and retreated to a shadier area, where she laid down, soon followed by the male, who rested his head on her side.

"Oh to have a cat's life" I heard Pietro state softly beside me

"That would be a good life" I smiled, as we looked at each other.

"Come on, lets go see some other stuff" I added, pushing away from the railing and taking a few steps ahead. When I didn't hear footsteps, I turned back. He was still looking at the lions, his eyes flashing with that same look from before, before he quickly looked away.

"You coming?" I asked, holding out my hand. He looked at it for a moment, before smiling and taking it.

"Da printsessa"

Next on the list was the "Cango Gorilla Forest" where I was able to film what had to be one of the funniest things ever. Pietro was talking to one of the gorillas, speaking Sokovian so I had no clue what he was saying, but the gorilla kept nodding his head. Sometimes he would move one arm about as if talking back to him. Pietro make a small gesture to me, before the gorilla pointed at me, and nodded back at Pietro. My cheeks hurt so much from laughing by the time Pietro started walking over.

"Did you have a nice conversation?" I asked, still laughing.

"Da, He is actually a very good listener" He laughed.

Next we stopped at the "World of Reptiles" Where Marcus, Connor, and I had to explain that alligators weren't unknown to us. And in fact, sometimes they would come into your pool in Florida. Pietro found our lack of terror for what the sign read as "dangerous" Slightly concerning. Also he wouldn't stop laughing after I pretty much "fangirled" as Marcus put it, over the turtles.

Then my mother and I wanted to visit the butterfly garden, much to the boy's dismay. But Pietro insisted that he got to film inside, so after must reluctantly, I handed over the camcorder. My mother and I awe'd at all of the little winged creatures, our conversation soon turning to fairies and such, which caught the attention of a little girl who was standing next to me.

"You believe in fairies?!" She gasped.

"Why of course I do" I smiled.

"Everyone always tells me that when you get older, you stop believing" She pouted.

"Nonsense" My mother stated, waving her hand.

"I'm fifty seven and I still believe" She added with a wink.

"Believe has nothing to do with age sweety" I smiled.

"Trust me, I will be old and gray, and still believe in Tinkerbell and her friends" I added.

"Me too!" She cheered.

"Do you wanna see if we can get a butterfly to land on us?" She asked after a moment.

"Sure" I smiled, crouching down and sticking my finger towards the flowers, she followed suit and we both grew very still. We watched as they flew around us for a moment, before ever so slowly, resting on your fingers. I could hear her gasp beside me. Smiling and giggling before the butterfly flew off.

"Mommy did you see that?!" She yelled, running over to tell her parents about what happened. I smiled, standing up with the butterfly still on my finger.

"You made a new friend printsessa" Pietro laughed, while pointing the camcorder at me, just before the butterfly flew off.

"My friend flew away" I giggled.

"Ah correction than, two new friends" He smiled, before I gave him a confused look.

"You are very good with children" He stated, gesturing to the little girl.

"Oh..That..That was"

"I keep telling her that she'll make a great mother, but she never believes me" My mother said walking up to us.

"She would make an amazing mother" Pietro smiled

"I swear I don't like kids" I sighed, crossing my arms.

"But they like you" My mother smiled, before going to find Harry.

"She isn't lying" He stated, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"You would make an amazing mother" He stated again, pointing to the little girl, who smiled and waved at me before leaving with her parents.

"Maybe someday" I sighed, feeling him press a kiss to my head.

Next was the "World of Darkness" Which was my mother's favorite due to all the bats. Though I should have known that going into a dark building with Pietro at my side, was not going to end without me blushing like a mad woman.

"W-What are you doing?" I asked, his arms with wrapped around my waist, while my back was against his chest and his lips kissed along my neck.

"I am expressing my love for my fiance" He smirked.

"Pietro, we could get caught" I whispered. Though I knew no one could see us in the corner that he had found.

"So?" He asked, spinning me around to face him.

"So, I don't want to get kicked out" I stated, though my breath coming out in pants, and my flushed face made me not as intimidating as I would have liked.

"Kiss me" He stated

"W-What?" I asked, my face growing hotter.

"Kiss me, and I'll let you go" He told me. I looked at him, to see if he was just joking, simply messing around with me. But his expression held nothing of the sort. My breath caught in my throat as I leaned in, my heart and head pounding.

I wasn't used to this, it had been years since I did anything like this, and that thought alone caused panic to flood through me. Thinking, I quickly kissed him on the cheek before pulling his hands away from my waist.

"C-Come on, w-we better go" I stuttered, backing away slightly. The pout on his face was clear, even in the dark, and I felt a pain in my chest due to it. We stared at each other for a moment, blue clashing with green, like hunters wondering who would end up being the prey. I watched as he pushed off of the wall, long strides causing him to close the gap between us in only seconds. His hand came up to rest on my cheek, while his breath fanned my face once more.

"Very well Elizabeth" He started, catching me off guard when he used my actually name.

"You win for now" He added, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips, before the hand that held my cheek reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the exit.

My thoughts were no where near the bear exhibit, even as I filmed. I needed to shake whatever this feeling was, it wasn't helping me, and it would only hurt after the month was up.

My thoughts started to return by the time we reach "Tiger Mountain"

"Got any quotes for us?" Harry asked, earning a laugh from my brothers. I though for a moment as I filmed the tigers running around.

"I was born in the clutches of tragedy, destined to be wild. And in the fiery ferocity, my tiger stripes are earned…Chrissie Pinney" I smiled.

"You know a lot of quotes" Pietro stated.

"That's what happened when you're a bookworm" Marcus laughed, causing me to roll my eyes.

the last four stops in the main zoo were the birds. "The Bird of Prey" "Aquatic bird house" "Sea bird aviary" and "World of birds" Those four were more of Harry and my mother's type of thing, I was waiting for what came next.

"Here we are, Dinosaur Safari" My mother said as we entered the main part.

"Yus! These are our streets!" I smiled, grabbing Connor's hand and pulling him along. It wasn't a secret in my family that Connor and myself were the biggest Dino nerds. Growing up we were both obsessed with them, he had all the dino books a kid could want, and when I was old enough to read, he shared them with me. Heck we had seen all three Jurassic movies more times than we could count.

"Bro! Check out the Ankylosaurus" I said, running up to the animatronic, camcorder in hand.

"They have a Stegosaurus over here" Connor said, causing me to rush to where he was.

"I wonder if they will have a Mosasaurus" I muttered while we both made our way to every single dinosaur.

The dinosaur safari was by far my favorite part, and Pietro once again, insisted that I give him the camcorder so that he could film my "adorable reactions to everything" as he put it. Connor and I started making a competition of it, seeing who could call out the name of the dinosaur first, he had won by two, but we were both laughing and smiling in the end. And finally, our favorite part came up.

"All hail the queen" I smiled, grabbing Connor's arm and pointing up. Standing so tall that we had to crane our necks to see, was our favorite dinosaur.

"The Tyrannosaurus Rex" We both said smiling. I couldn't help but awe at the babies that were around her feet. I turned to Pietro and pointed at them.

"Ok, those are cute" He laughed, before it turned into a smirk.

"You might want to look up" He stated, stepping back to film. I slowly looked up, being met with the mouth of the T-Rex, right before she roared. It seemed the babies had sensors on them, and if you got too close, mamma let you know. The sound made me jump, and I could hear Pietro laughing even with the ringing in my ears.

"Totally worth it" I smiled. The T-rex was the last part of the park, and soon we all found ourselves making our way back to the car.

"We need to bring Wanda here, I think she would like it" I told Pietro.

"Da, I asked her if she wanted to come today, but she said she had a…Date with Vision" He stated.

"It's ok Pietro, she's a grown woman" I laughed, holding his hand.

"It's just something I am getting used to" he sighed.

"I know"

"Oh! I meant to get something, I will be right back" He spoke, before speeding off.

"Should we wait?" My mother asked.

"Na, he could go and meet us at the car before _we_ even make it to the car" I laughed, walking forward once more. Sure enough, not even two minutes later, I felt my body being hugged.

"Speedy as always" I laughed.

"I got you something" He smiled, his head resting on my shoulder.

"You didn't have to do that" I replied, looking back at him.

"I know, but I wanted to. I saw this cool machine earlier" he stated, before handing me a piece of metal. I looked down at it, it was once a quarter, but now it had been cut in half, the metal that still resided showed a lioness silhouette, while the part that was cut out showed a lion silhouette.

"And if my assumptions about this are correct" I said looking over at him, he smiled and slowly opened his hand to show the other side of the quarter, the designs being reversed so that the two fit together.

"I love it" I smiled at him, courage rushing through me for a moment as I leaned over and kissed his cheek, surprising him. We made our way back to the car, and back to our homes. All of us were actually quite tired after the day, and after entering our room, Pietro fell onto the bed.

"Want me to order pizza?" I suggested.

"Please" he replied, giggling, I picked up the phone, very happy at that moment that I had gotten him hooked on pizza.

One pizza, and five episodes of Once upon a Time later, I was climbing into bed after taking a quick shower.

"I had a lot of fun today" I sighed.

"Me too, it was fun seeing you and your family interact, especially you and your brothers" He smiled.

"They're goofs" I smiled.

"Says the girl who got really exited over wild dogs, turtles, and dinosaurs" He laughed.

"Hey!" I pouted, lightly smacking him.

"It was cute, I promise" He smiled, rolling over and wrapping his arm around me.

"Though I did notice something" He spoke, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"You are close to Connor sure…But you are closer to Marcus, your relationship reminds me of myself and Wanda. Is it because he is closer to your age?" he asked, my smile fell as I tried to figure out how to answer.

"Marcus and I…We went through some stuff as kids…For awhile we felt like we only had each other" I stated. Pietro raised his head to look at me, but my expressed showed that I didn't want to get into it right now.

"I see, that explains why you remind me of myself and Wanda" he replied, laying his head back on the pillow.

"But you can tell me when you're ready" He added, kissing my shoulder.

"Thank you" I smiled softly.

"Goodnight printsessa" he yawned.

"Goodnight Pietro"


	6. Nightmares reveal hidden pasts

**Ok so this one is very feelzy I will warn. Writing this much about my childhood…brought up a lot of stuff for me, but it also helped me get closure on some things as well. But this explains the trust issues that Ellie has. Also, Pietro's part is a direct quote from the movie. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, hopefully the next one will be happier lol.**

* * *

The next few days were thankfully, lazy days, spent either hanging out with Wanda and the gang, or laying around my house watching Netflix. Everything was actually very calm between Pietro and I, we "practiced" being a couple more, and slowly it was becoming easier.

The night started out as any other, but around three AM I was awoken by a noise, or rather, a whimper. Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself trying to adjust to the darkness while listening for the sound. Soon I heard it again, only this time it was followed by words.

"No…Mom…Dad…" the voice I knew, and my eyes fell upon the figure beside me.

 _'He's having a nightmare'_ I realized, wondering now if I should wake him up, or let him wake up on his own. His head fell from one side to the other, while his breathing picked up. From the bit of moonlight that came through the window I could see the sweat glistening along his face and chest.

 _'this is a bad one'_

"Pietro" I whispered, resting my hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath my fingertips.

"Pietro wake up" I spoke a little louder, shaking him slightly, but sill he didn't wake.

"Pietro wake up" I shook him a bit harder, his eyes snapped open, and his body shot up. His breaths were coming out in pants and he blinked while looking around the room. His eyes soon fell onto mine as he swallowed.

"Elizabeth?" he asked.

"It's ok Pietro, it was just a nightmare" I told him, resting my hand on his shoulder. He shook his head, before reaching for his jeans. I thought he was getting dressed, maybe going for a walk to clear his head, but instead I watched as he pulled out something from the pocket.

"It wasn't a nightmare…It was a memory" He stated, holding the item in his hand. From the small amount of light, I could barely make it out, but once I could, my heart hurt for him. The item was a small picture, of himself and Wanda when they were young, and their parents. I knew he had lost them, I remember reading it in his files, but that was all I knew.

"I'm so sorry sweety" I spoke, my arm reaching around his torso while I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I see it happen over and over, just as it did…But I cannot help…I cannot save them" He spoke softly.

"Wanda and I…We were ten years old, we were having dinner, the four of us." He starts.

"The first shell hits two floors below us, it makes a hole in the floor…Big. Our parents go in, and the whole build starts coming apart. I grab Wanda, and roll under the bed, The second shell hits…But…It doesn't go off. It just sit there in the rubble, three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell, is painted one word…Stark" My eyes widened while my head raised from his shoulder, I turned to look at him, his eyes still on the picture. I knew he and Tony didn't get along, everyone had told me about how the twins used to work alongside Ultron, but I never knew the reasoning. I honestly couldn't blame him, I would have had the same reaction.

"We were trapped, for two days. Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks…We both swore it would set it off. We waited for two days…For Tony Stark to kill us" he finished. I honestly didn't know what to say, what do you say to comfort someone who had been through such a thing? I hugged him tighter, pushing my nervousness aside as I kissed his shoulder. The muscles relaxed under my touch, and his body seemed to calm, if only a small amount.

"My life was what I thought was perfect growing up" I started, unsure why, but at that moment everything felt like it needed to be out in the open. He had spilled his childhood…It was time for me to spill mine.

"I had a loving family, and we were happy…Or so I thought. My parents divorced when I was nine, and if I said it was a clean breakup, I would be lying. My father had been cheating on my mom for the last three years of their twenty five year marriage…She found everything from letters, to dating profiles online. Even at nine it hurt to see your father on a site where his profile said he didn't have any children" I stated, feeling Pietro's arm wrap around my waist before he pulled us back down on the bed, his head coming to rest on my chest.

"It didn't take long for the fighting to start after that, screaming at the top of their lungs until the early hours of the morning…Marcus and I didn't get much rest in those months. That is why Marcus and I are close…If it wasn't for him…I honestly don't know what I would have done. He was fourteen, so he was the more mature one. Every time a fight would start, Marcus would take me into our room and turn on the tv really loud, or he and I would play video games" I laughed lightly at the memory, I had gotten so good at Pokemon because of that.

"I never saw Marcus cuss, except for when I wouldn't stop crying because of the fighting, and he opened the door and cussed them both out. Things got worse before they got better though, I walked into the kitchen one day and saw my father in a puddle of his own blood…Because he had cut the top of his arm countless times." I sighed, my hands unconsciously running through Pietro's hair while his thumb rubbed circles in my side.

"Then one time my father shoved me into the bathroom, telling me to see what my mother was doing, and I saw he trying to cut her wrists with a pen…I was weak…I always felt like I couldn't help them no matter how hard I tried, I wanted us to be a family again, but in the back of my mind I knew that would never happen." I felt Pietro hold my free hand while I spoke.

"My parents were what I based my happily ever afters on…like every little girl does…My father was the prince, who promised to never leave me…And that night I had to watch him walk away" I sighed, blinking away the tears.

"You wonder why I don't trust…Everyone I have ever trusted or cared for has left, time and time again" I spoke, taking a deep breath. At this, Pietro leaned up on his elbow, his face that of understanding while his hand came up to wipe away tears that I didn't know had fallen.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be crying, you had it so much worse" I stated.

"Nyet, you have ever right to cry. We both had hard childhoods, you said you were weak, but a weak person would not have been able to make it that far, a weak person would have given up" He stated.

"No I didn't have thoughts about giving up until later on in life" I stated, laughing lightly. This caused him to raise a brow.

"later on, when we first moved in with Harry, my stepbrother, and stepsister…I always felt like a burden. My brother had new friends, my mother had Harry…I didn't feel like I ever fit…I was ten when the suicidal thoughts first started" I told him, watching as his eyes widened at my words.

"Promise me that you will never have those thoughts again" He said sternly, though I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Pietro I can't really help the thou-"

"Promise me Elizabeth" He spoke again, though this time a bit softer while his hand cupped my cheek.

"Promise me that if you start having them, that you'll come to me" he added, before whispering.

"I can't lose you too" My voice caught in my throat as I looked at him, his eyes shown with the same emotion that they did at the zoo, but this time I was able to read it…Hurt, and that only made my chest tighten.

"I promise" I told him, my forehead resting against his.

"Thank you" He smiled softly.

"For what?" I asked, pulling back to look at him, his blue eyes now shining brighter in the moonlight.

"For letting me in" I couldn't help but smile back, a small laugh escaping me.

"Thank you for letting me in as well…But let's keep it between us ok…The others don't know about my childhood" I told him, this only seemed to please him more.

"I promise printsessa" He replied, kissing my cheek.

"Wanna try getting some more sleep?" I asked, looking over at the clock.

"Or we could try something else" I heard him whisper, his voice husky, before I felt him press his lips to my neck.

"P-Pietro" I stuttered, squirming under him.

"Ok ok printsessa, we will wait for our wedding night" he laughed, laying beside me and pulling me flush against his body, before nuzzling my neck.

"Goodnight printsessa" He smiled.

"Goodnight Pietro" I giggled, my hand coming up to play with his hair before we both fell back asleep.


	7. How could you?

"You ok kid?" Steve asked sitting beside me in the plane.

"Just…Still not used to missions" I laughed. Today I had been called in to help on a mission, which was rare, and I was only called in when they absolutely needed me.

"Well you know we wouldn't put you in harm's way if we didn't need you" Steve joked.

"Oh thanks" I laughed.

"I'm kidding, we've all got your back Ellie, nothing will happen. But Tony thought it would be a good chance to try out some new stuff he added to the suit" he commented, pointing to the armor encasing my body. It was true, Tony was like another brother to me, and because of that bond, he felt that I needed my own suit. But not just any suit, a female iron man suit, or as he called it, the Iron Maiden. Which was pretty much an iron man suit, but instead of a helmet, it was a visor screen with a mic. Smiling, I nodded.

"I know, and I have your backs too" He smiled at my comment, before standing and walking back to the front. In an instant I noticed that the seat beside me was filled once more, and I could tell who it was before even looking.

"Nervous Speedy?" I smirked

"Of course not" He laughed.

"I was coming to see if you were printsessa"

"Nope" I replied taking a deep breath, though I could see him raise a brow out of the corner of my eye.

"Maybe a little" I stated, releasing the breath.

"I'm just still not used to this" I added, gesturing to the plane and everyone suited up, ready for battle.

"Ah see, that is the problem with you not coming along, you do not get used to it" he replied, I nodded, he honestly was right, if I went on more missions my reaction would be the same as everyone else, just another day.

"Do not worry printsessa, I will protect you" He smiled, leaning over to kiss my cheek. My face flushed as I looked over at him, a smile spread across his lips.

"You know that my parents aren't around…You don't have to-" I started, but he cut me off.

"I know, but I wanted to" He smiled, before I could say anything else, a new voice rang out.

"Ok this is where we will be landing, Ellie will stay high, we will rely on the new thermal imaging capabilities of the suit, understood everyone?" Steve ordered, everyone nodded, and readied to jump. I stood as well, ready to take to the skys.

"Good luck" I smiled, before taking off. Once in position I scanned the surroundings, after the last scope out of a Hydra base, the group reported that it was empty, and most likely a decoy. This one though, this had to be the main base, the amount of people was slightly terrifying. But I knew if anyone could take these guys down, it would be the gang.

"We're on the ground" I heard Steve's voice in my ear.

"Roger that, you have five men ten yards ahead of you, two to your twelve, one to your two, and two to your ten" I responded.

"Copy that"

It wasn't long before I heard gunfire and yelling, and I watched as the men were taken down, but the noise had drew some attention.

"You have ten men headed your way, pairs on wheels" I spoke into the mic, watching as the team advanced, easily taking out the next people.

"The building is on high alert fellas, no sneak attack this time"

"When does a sneak attack ever actually work?" Pietro laughed, hinting at the base that he and Wanda had been at.

"With us, hardly ever" Clint replied.

"Speedy, you got a pair on wheels coming up on your eight" I stated, lowering myself a little closer to the scene. I lost Pietro's image for a minute, it seemed that even Tony's tech couldn't keep up with him, but then he was right back where he was.

"Spasibo printsessa"

"I have no clue what that is, but I'm thinking it was thank you, so you're welcome" I laughed.

"It was" Wanda spoke.

"You are getting better" Pietro joked.

"I just read the situation" I laughed before adding

"Guys I'm not getting any heat signatures inside the base…Infact, it's ice cold"

"Well that means no one will mind us not knocking" Tony replied as I watched him fly through the hole he blasted in the building.

"May I come in Cap?" I laughed.

"All clear outside?" Steve asked, taking a quick scan around I replied.

"Everyone's taking a nap"

"Alright then" And with that, I made my way inside the base as well. The inside was huge, and dark. The place was almost empty, except for the large amount of suits. The suits looked metal, but with some sort of flexible material in between the plates of armor. The strangest thing though, was there didn't seem to be eye holes anywhere.

 _'How does the pilot see?'_ I wondered.

"These things are really weird looking" Pietro commented, getting close to one of the suits.

"Maybe you shouldn't get that close" I stated, a little wary of the things.

"Awe, are you worried about me printsessa?" Pietro smirked, turning around to face me. I was about to speak again, when in an instant, the suit's hands were wrapped around his throat.

"Pietro!" I yelled, the noise waking the other suits as their heads all snapped in our direction.

"What the hell?" I heard Tony ask, before the suits began charging us. I blasted the few that came my way, making it over to where Pietro had flipped the suit over and gotten out of it's grasp.

"Are you ok?" I asked while he coughed.

"I'm fine" he replied, a smile soon coming to his lips to reassure me.

"What are these things?" He asked, running and knocking one over that was pointing a gun at Clint.

"I have no clue, they aren't even registering on my scanners" I stated, blasting another one. Pietro and I backed up, as we saw more come out of a back room, but by now everyone was in pairs trying to fight off these things.

"In here" Pietro stated, picking me up and speeding off into another room. We quickly hid as I talked to the others.

"Do we see any weakness Ellie?" Tony asked

"No, they aren't even showing up on my scanners, they have no heat, and the scanners can't even register what these things are made of" I stated, just before a loud explosion echoed in the room, Pietro and I ducked just in time for the metal door that was across the room to be shot at us.

"What was that?" Steve asked

"There are more than we thought" Pietro stated, peeking over the barrels that we were hiding behind.

"At least twenty more just showed up" he added

"Damn" Natasha cursed.

"Can we figure out what is powering these things?" Clint asked

"If they even have a external power source" Tony added, I peeked over the barrels, quickly scanning the room, when suddenly…The thermal caught something.

"Guys I'm picking up a heat signature, it could be the power source" I stated

"Readings?" Tony inquired.

"It's pulling something from the database" I stated, ducking back behind the barrels.

"What did it pull" Steve asked, and when I read the screen, my heart sank.

"How is that possible?" I asked

"Ellie?" Pietro asked.

"Ellie what did it pull?" Steve asked again.

"Sir…It's the Tesseract" I replied, looking over at Pietro who looked just as surprised.

"Are you sure?"Wanda asked

"That's what the scans say, I won't know for sure until I get in the room" I replied.

"This room is too small, if we show ourselves" Pietro started

"I know" I stated while I looked around the room.

"Come on" I replied, crawling over his lap and along the wall, one wall was completely lined with junk, telling me that this must have been some sort of storage room. But sadly, there was still one wall between me and the power source.

"Well we are closer" Pietro stated.

"I just have to figure out how to get over there" I replied,taking in all my options, unaware of the fact that the piece of junk I was by was slowly falling. The sound of metal was loud in the small space, and before I could blink I found myself against Pietro's chest just as gunfire let loose.

"Shit" I cursed, now there was no way we would be getting to that room, if we even made it out alive. I was about to speak, tell Pietro to get out of the room, but before I could, a warm feeling spread over my body. My words caught in my throat while my eyes widened. The lips that were pressed against mine were soft, even as his stubble rubbed against my skin.

But it was the passion behind the kiss that had my heart racing, it was longing, and needy, something I felt would be given to a lover after a long time apart. Only when I felt him slowly pull away, did my eyes opened, staring into the ocean blue orbs that were mere inches away.

"What?" I began to question, but was soon cut off.

"Get to the door" My eyes widened as I watched him speed off, drawing the suits attention to himself. My heart raced as I heard the gunfire again, and I had to force myself up.

 _'that idiot'_ I scolded, though my chest tightened as I ran to the room, using the suit's tech to break the lock. The light that resided in the room was blinding, an electric blue that I had only seen in pictures. I knew it was dangerous, but at that moment, my brain didn't seem to want to work properly. I quickly shut down the barriers around it, reaching over and pulling the container from it's outlet. I could hear metal hitting the ground outside, and upon inspection I realized that the suits had fallen…But I didn't see Pietro anywhere.

"Pietro?" I asked into the mic, receiving only silence.

"Pietro do you read me?" I asked again.

"Does anyone have eyes on Pietro?" I asked the team, running out of the room, and to where the team had gather outside.

"I thought he was with you" Clint stated while I handed the power source to Tony.

"He distracted the suits so I could get that" I replied.

"Pietro if you don't say something I swear" I spoke into the mic, trying to act tough, and mean. But my heart clenched at the silence, and every moment that ticked by I grew more and more nauseous.

"Pietro?" I all but whispered, tears threatening to spill. When suddenly I felt my body being lifted, held bridal style.

"Awe you do care printsessa" The man smiled down at me.

"You…You heard me…And yet you didn't answer" I stated.

"I was just messing with you printsessa, I am ok, see" he said, setting me down and stepping away.

"You…You ignored me, just so you could mess with me?" I asked, anger now raising up, I was worried for him, scared that something happened, and he was playing a trick?!

"printsessa come on" He smiled, reaching for my arm, but I pulled it out of my reach.

"No, that was beyond fucked up Pietro, I was actually worried for you, and you were just playing some sick twisted joke, screw you" I yelled, storming into the plane.

"Wrong thing to do kid" Clint added, shaking his head and following me into the plane. Pietro just stood there, wide eyed at my outburst, before his sister came to his side.

"I understand that you wanted to know if you were important enough for her to worry about, but perhaps you went about it in the wrong way brother" She told him, before making her own way back to the plane.

The plane ride back was quiet, Pietro stayed away from me, deciding to let me have my space, but I could see him look up at me every now and then. Was I mad at him for what he pulled? Of course! But I was more mad at myself, because I did what I swore I would never do again…I let someone in, I trusted…I started developing feelings, and I knew that it would only hurt me.

Today was just a taste, in this line of work it was dangerous to have ties like that. What if this hadn't been just a joke? What if he had gotten hurt…Or had died. I still thought he was a jerk for messing with me yes, but truly my anger was with myself, and how much I had grown to care for him.


	8. Forgiveness

**First off, I'd like to thank the awesome pietroimagines on tumblr for their ideas for this chapter. The presents and scene from The Proposal was completely their idea, and I couldn't pass them up because it worked too perfectly for Pietro and Ellie to get close again lol. And the daddy part is from the many conversations we have had about what kind of dad Pietro would be lol. Also, the gummy bears are a reference to their awesome Pietro story The Personal Trainer. Which if you have not read I highly recommend it.**

 **Note:** ** _Italics are flashbacks_**

* * *

The next few days Pietro stayed at the tower, Wanda having told him that it would be best to let me cool down. My mother was more than understanding of course, she told me that all relationships have their ups and downs, hills that once past, only makes the bond stronger. Though she was also quick to point out that Pietro should not have done what he did, but then whispering to me that he was a male and sometimes they weren't the brightest. I thought the time alone would allow me to start getting used to being on my own again, but it seemed like Pietro would not make an exit from my personal life that easily.

The first day it was a blue rose at my doorstep, at first I was shocked that someone was able to find a real blue rose, but when I picked it up I couldn't help but laugh…It seemed he had remembered one of our conversations.

 _"But flowers are so pretty, how can a woman not love them?" Pietro asked as we walked down the street, passing by a flower shop._

 _"I do like flowers, just not real ones" I replied with a laugh._

 _"I do not understand you at all" he laughed as well._

 _"A guy gives his girlfriend a dozen roses, eleven real, one fake, and tells her that he'll love her til the last rose dies" I smiled before adding._

 _"Fake flowers last, their beauty is eternal. Real flowers die, their beauty only lasts a week at the most, before you have to watch it slowly wither…It's honestly quite sad"_

The second day I couldn't help but laugh when I opened the door to find a heart shaped box filled with Reese's miniature…And one lone gummy bear.

"You actually shared" I smiled.

 _"But these are mine" He said, holding the bag out of my reach._

 _"I just want one, please?" I asked, looking up at the bag of gummy bears. Pietro looked at the bag, then at me, then back to the bag._

 _"He's not good with sharing" Wanda stated from the couch._

 _"My sister is correct" Pietro stated._

 _"Please, just one"_

 _"You don't share your chocolate" He stated_

 _"You don't like chocolate" I replied_

 _"…This is also correct" he spoke._

 _"Fine" I sighed, walking out of the room._

I was slowly finding it harder and harder to stay made at the Sokovian, and by the third day I figured I'd let him off the hook when I saw something that made my heart melt. In front of the door, was a little Toothless plushie, and a sign with four lone words.

 **"Please forgive my daddy"**

Shaking my head, smile on my face, I picked up the plushie and placed him on the bed, looking over the sign.

"You win you goof" I sighed.

After spending most of the day with my parents sightseeing, I made my way to the tower. Only a few people were in the main room when I arrived, Tony, Bruce, and Clint.

"Well there's a face I haven't seen in awhile" Tony smiled, coming over to me.

"It's only been three days T" I laughed

"Really? It seems like ages" He replied, giving me a one armed hug.

"The others training?" I asked, making my way over to the couch where Clint rested, giving him a hug.

"Ya, Steve and Nat are still trying to whip them into shape" He replied.

"Well if anyone can, it's those two" I laughed, giving Bruce a hug before Tony handed me a drink.

"You know, you should really broaden your horizon when it comes to drinks, Scotch isn't bad" Tony stated.

"I'll stick with Vodka" I laughed, taking a drink.

"So how come you're here? Finally giving in and forgiving the kid?" Clint asked.

"I'm going to talk to him" I replied.

"He really didn't mean any harm, he just…Went about it the wrong way" Bruce spoke

"He's young, what do you expect. He doesn't understand women, I have tried to teach him, honestly I have" Tony stated.

"I'm sure you have" I laughed, finishing my drink.

"You two should talk it out though, the last thing we need is two teammates that can't stand each other" Clint said.

"I understand, that is why I'm here"

"You should probably go take a shower before you two talk" Tony stated, causing me to look at him, one brow raised.

"Excuse me?"

"You've been out all day haven't you?" he asked.

"Are you saying I stink?" I laughed

"No…I'm just saying that I can tell, now go"

"Wow ok, very well Mr.I understand women" I replied rolling my eyes and getting off of the stool. I couldn't help but laugh as the conversation kept going even as I exited the room.

"Smooth Tony" Clint shook his head.

"I was simply being honest, women like honesty" Tony defended

"I'm pretty sure they don't like that much honesty" Bruce stated.

"Are you sure? Would you like to bet? Show of hands who has had the most women? Anyone?" Tony spoke, making the others go quiet. I didn't have a room at the tower, being as I wasn't a main part of the Avengers. Tony had offered to make me one, but I declined, telling him to save the space for new recruits. So That meant, that I would have to be using someone else's shower.

I knew Steve or Natasha wouldn't mind, but I didn't want to invade his or Natasha's space. Wanda I could tell was the type that didn't like a lot of people in her room, much less in her bath…So that left Pietro. He wouldn't mind, after all, we had used the same shower when he lived with me. Making my way to his room, I quickly entered the bathroom, striping of my clothes and turning on the hot water. The water relaxed me, soothing my stressed muscles, and washing away the day.

Pietro entered the room panting, his muscles tense from the training, but even the long hours of training couldn't keep his mind clear. He sighed, reaching into the drawer for a towel before making his way to his closet to get more clothes. He turned the volume on his ipod up louder, hoping that the blaring music would somehow take away his guilt.

I sighed as I stepped out of the shower, I did honestly feel a hundred percent better…The fact that I now smelt like axe body wash only added to that feeling. Looking around I silently cursed.

"Who doesn't keep the towels in their bathroom?" I whispered to myself, before slowly opening the door.

"Hello?" I asked, letting out a sigh of relief when I didn't receive an answer. Looking around I noticed a towel sticking halfway out of a drawer, perfect! Slowly exiting the bathroom I quickly made my way to it, pulling on it with one hand while turning to go back to the bathroom…But the towel didn't move.

"Oh come on!" I whispered, opening the drawer more and pulling on it again, this time harder. The towel came loose, but I found myself stumbling. Turning quickly to try and get my footing, I found myself running into something…Or rather…Someone.

Pietro stripped himself of the training clothes, tossing them in the hamper inside his closet, before he grabbed some fresh clothes, and the towel, and exited the closet. He turned to make his way to the shower, but suddenly he felt something hit him…or rather…Someone.

I felt my body fall forward as what I had ran into fell back, and we both hit the floor, opening my eyes, I was met with a familiar pair of blue ones. A blush spread across my cheeks when I realized who I was now laying atop…Naked…But the blush deepened tenfold when I realized, he was naked as well.

"Why are you naked?!" I asked trying to get up.

"Why are you wet?" He asked getting up as well.

"D-Don't look at me!" I yelled, scrambling for the bed.

"I can try but it is hard" He replied, and I could hear the smirk in his voice, which caused me to look over to make sure he wasn't looking…This only caused a small problem…Well…A large problem.

"Oh God! You're showing everything, cover it up for the love of God!" I yelled, quickly grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around myself.

"Oh I'm sorry printsessa, am I flustering you?" He asked, turning to face me, not making any motion to cover himself.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled, burying my face in the sheet.

"What? We are engaged after all, you can look at your fiance in all of his glory" He stated, the smirk clear in his voice.

"Pietro if you do not cover up right now" I warned

"You'll do what printsessa? Fight me? You'll have to take the sheet off" He replied chuckling.

"I came here to talk to you, but if you are going to be this way" I started, quickly catching his attention.

"Ok ok, I will go…Even though" He started, before I felt his hot breath on my ear, making me stiffen.

"ya by s udovol'stviyem s toboy lyubov'yu _(I'd love to make love to you)_ " He whispered in my ear, his voice low and husky, and his accent thick. I hated the shudder that raced through me at the tone of his voice, his words were unknown to my brain, but part of me felt like they were words reserved for private meetings, and that did little to slow my heart.

"You can get some clothes from the closet" he spoke, his voice lighter now, before I heard the door close. I waited until I heard the shower start before I stood. Making my way to his closet, I grabbed the nearest thing, which was a pair of sweats, and a white shirt. I sat on the edge of the bed, drying my hair, when I heard the door open again. Immediately covering my face, I asked.

"Are you clothed?"

"Yes printsessa" he laughed, taking the towel away, I was happy to see that he wasn't lying, even if it was only sweatpants he had on.

"Can I just say you look very cute in my clothes" He smiled, laying down beside me.

"Be quiet" I replied, rolling my eyes, though a blush still spread on my cheeks.

"So…What did you want to talk about?" He asked hesitantly.

"First off…You're a dork for all of the presents" I laughed, causing his face to light up and a smile to make it's way to his lips.

"And second" I started, taking a deep breath.

"You're still a jerk for what you pulled" I spoke, his face falling a bit.

"But I forgive you" His hands were around my waist in seconds, pulling me over onto his chest.

"I'm so sorry printsessa, I won't do it again" he promised.

"You better not, or I will kill you myself" I told him, pushing him off.

"You were really worried about me…Weren't you?" He asked as I stood.

"Of course I was" I spoke, though soon catching myself.

"I worry about everyone when they go on missions"

"Thank you" He whispered, his arms around my waist once more, while his chin rested on my shoulder.

"Don't make me regret it" I smiled.

"Can I come home?" He asked after a minute, his words caught me by surprise, and I felt my body stiffen. Home? He thought of me as…My heart clenched, but I swallowed it down.

"Yeah…Let's go home" I replied, before adding.

"Just keep your clothes on"

"No promises printsessa" he laughed, kissing my cheek.


	9. The horn of war

**Tiny chapter! I do apologize, the next chapter will be longer though lol.**

 **Everyone was asking for another chapter, so I wanted to put something out.**

* * *

My family had decided that they wanted to stay in today, have a day of rest, which meant that I got to go to the tower to train. Training wasn't something I had to do, like the rest of the team, but it was something I actually enjoyed when I could. Making my way to the training room, I found myself in the air as soon as I stepped through the door.

"Hello printsessa"

"Hello Pietro, how are you today?" I asked looking around the room to see that it was only the two of us.

"I am much better now" He smiled, I rolled my eyes, a smile on my lips before I pushed off of him, standing once more.

"Are you here to train?" He asked

"Nope, I'm here to make cupcakes" I replied sarcastically…Though the joking tone seemed to go over his head.

"Really?" he asked excitedly, I couldn't help but facepalm at him.

"I was joking P"

"why would you joke about cupcakes? That's not nice" He pouted.

"Oh boy" I laughed, making my way over to the punching bag. After about thirty minutes with the punching bag, and about an hour on chin up, push ups, and sit up. I decided it was enough for the day.

"Leaving already?" Pietro asked, coming off of his last chin up.

"Yeah, I don't do this every day like you guys do" I laughed.

"True, you should though, you make the time past faster" he smiled

"Is that so?" I laughed.

"It is, especially in that" he smirked, gesturing to my tight shorts and sports bra.

"How did I know you were gonna be a perv" I laughed, shaking my head as I grabbed my towel.

"I am not" he gasped, quickly catching up to me.

"I am stating the obvious that you are beautiful" he added with a smile. I reached for the door, opening it, when sudden a loud sound rang out. It was like a horn, only a hundred times louder. My hands shot up to cover my ears as I looked over at Pietro, who was doing the same. I wondered if it would ever end, it seemed to go on forever, but after a bit, it finally stopped.

"What the hell was that?" Pietro asked

"I don't know, but we need to find out" I stated, running out of the room. The others met us in the main room, all looking just as confused as us.

"What was that?" Clint asked

"Friday what was that noise?" Tony asked

"I'm going to go check on the Tesseract" Bruce spoke, retreating to the lab.

"Sir there appears to be a disturbance in the Stratosphere" The voice spoke

"It seems that our fight at the base did not end there" Vision spoke, making us all turn to him.

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked

"The noise, it was a horn of war" He told her

"What?" I asked

"By who?" Steve asked

"I believe…By them" Pietro stated, looking out of the window. We all turned to where he was looking, and our eyes widened as we watched a ship slowly fly by, a ship that did not look at all human.

"How?" Tony asked

"The Tesseract" Bruce stated, we all turned to him.

"It's still in the lab?" Natasha asked, Bruce nodded before adding.

"But it's reacting to something, it's sending a signal out, the signal they're coming through"

"How is that possible? Thor has Loki's spear on Asgard, nothing should trigger it" Tony stated

"Something is" Bruce told him.

"So we are under attack, by aliens…Again?" Clint sighed

"On no" I gasped, my eyes suddenly going wide while everyone looked at me.

"I have to get my parents out of the city!"

* * *

 **Cliff hanger, hanging from a cliff!**

 **Lol, so there is part 9, again, sorry it's so short.**


	10. Please, not him

**Here it is! Chapter 10!...Please don't hate me**

* * *

"Right! You and Pietro go and get your family to safety, everyone else, follow me" Steve announced, before calling back to Pietro and I.

"Grab your communicators"

Without a second thought, Pietro lifted me up and sped out to the car. To say that getting to my building was hard would have been an understatement. Between people screaming and running…And aliens attacking, it was hell, but finally we made it. Racing inside I saw my family already in the lobby, along with many other people.

"Mom!" I yelled, grabbing her attention before she ran over to us, followed by Harry and my brothers.

"We were so worried" My mother stated, hugging me.

"What the hell is going on?" Marcus asked.

"Oh you know, alien invasion, typical New York day" I sighed, looking outside.

"We have to get you guys to a safer place" Pietro stated

"You don't have to tell me twice" Harry spoke. I ushered them all out to the car, about to get in when a building near us was hit.

"We have to go" I said, looking over at Pietro. He looked at me for a moment, before he was by my side.

"Get them to safety"

"You're coming too" I stated

"Nyet printsessa, you go, I'll be fine"

"Pietro I am not leaving you here alone to fight these things" I stated

"You have to, I cannot stand by and let them do this, and you need to worry about your family" he spoke.

"But-"

"Please…Trust me" He told me, grabbing my hand. I stared at him for a moment, wondering if I should, before I sighed.

"Please be careful" I begged

"I always am printsessa" he smiled, leaning in to kiss my cheek, before he was gone. Sighing, I climbed into the car, quickly escaping onto the streets. I headed for the nearest exit out of the city, but just as I was a bit away, I heard the announcement on the radio.

"The bridges out of the city have been blocked, we are urging people to get to one of the safe locations across the city"

"Crap" I muttered, listening to where the safe locations were, turning when I heard that one was only a few streets away. Upon reaching it, I quickly got everyone inside, the place was packed, but I knew things would only get worse if I didn't get back out there.

"You guys stay here ok" I told them before turning around, but I soon felt a hand on my arm, looking back, I saw my mother with tears in her eyes.

"Please be careful" she begged

"I will mommy, don't worry" I smiled, reaching back to hug her before heading out.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, I need my suit" I stated into the mic.

"The new suit F.R.I.D.A.Y" I heard Tony speak

"New suit?" I asked

"You'll see" he replied. I stood still, knowing that everyone was located by GPS, and soon enough, I heard the familiar whistling of the suit flying. It landed before me, it was hard to describe, it looked like it was built with more metal, yet still as slim and light as before, but the main thing I noticed was.

"I get a helmet?" I asked with a chuckled as I stepped into the suit, it closing and locking around me.

"The more protection, the better" Tony stated.

"Thanks"

"No problem kid, now come help"

"On my way" I replied, taking off.

"P you still where I left you?" I asked, making my way back.

"Nyet, I am with the others" He replied

"Good" I laughed

"Were you worried?" He asked, laughter in his voice even as I heard the sound of metal hitting the ground around him.

"Shut it Speedy" I replied, quickly landing back at the tower.

"So any ideas on how to shut these things down? We already have the Tesseract" I stated, blasting a few that came my way.

"It's not the Tesseract that is controlling them this time" Tony replied, landing next to me.

"So what is?" I asked, looking past him and blasting a suit that was ready to shoot.

"I've been able to locate two sources with the same power, somehow our little friends transferred the energy of the Tesseract" Tony replied, both of us flying up into the air once more, easily shooting out ten small ships that were flying by.

"And let me guess, the signals are coming from those things" I stated, pointing to the two giant ships that were hovering over either side of town.

"You catch on quick"

"Ok, so are you a man with a plan?" I asked

"Aren't I always?" He asked

"Than after you"

"Ok guys here's what needs to happen. Natasha, Wanda, Speedy, you three are going to accompany me to that lovely ship hovering over the west side of the city. Vision, you, Steve, Clint, and–"

Tony paused as a beam shot down right in front of us, both of us flew out of the way in time, and watched as it slowly faded, leaving none other than the God of thunder in it's wake.

"Ah right on time" Tony stated.

"I wish to know how these things got ahold of the Tesseract" Thor stated.

"We'd actually like to know that too, but first, let's get rid of them" Tony started

"Ok as I was saying, Vision, you Steve, Clint, and now Thor can go with Ellie to the ship on the east side of town. Burce, big man, you're coming with me too" Tony added, before flying off towards the other ship.

"Alright boys, we'll make a path for ya" I stated, heading towards the east ship, Thor right behind me.

"Is the Tesseract safe Lady Elizabeth?" Thor asked while we fought the suits.

"It's in the lab" I replied, turning around and firing off a missile, easily taking out thirty of them.

"Where did you come across it?" He inquired

"They had it in a Hydra base, it was a power source. Tony believes that somehow they drained some of it's energy in order to power their ships here" I replied, blasting a suit that Thor threw towards me.

"Than we must stop them" He replied, standing beside me.

"That's the plan" I stated, just as Steve made his way to us.

"Vision and Hawk up high?" I asked, to which Steve nodded.

"They're going to keep the airborne fighters off us while we get on the ship"

"Right, let's go then" I stated as we headed off once more.

"I thought I was the leader" Steve laughed, quickly catching up.

"I'm sorry, did you want to say go?" I asked with a laugh. He was about to speak when we heard Tony came over the com.

"Ok so…The inside of the ship is a bit over crowded, you will have to wait a bit before they can get you a table" I couldn't help but laugh at his statement, Tony always did have a way of making situations seem less dangerous then what they were.

"Need some help old man?" Pietro asked, laughing as well.

"First off, age isn't everything, I could still get more women than you could kid, and second…Yeah actually hop up here right fast, and bring your sister" Tony replied. Thor and I closed in on the ship, quickly, I flew down and grabbed Steve's hand.

"Up ya go leader" I stated, flying up and landing ontop of the ship, Thor soon followed.

"Watch out boys" I spoke, quickly blasting a hole in the roof, before dropping down. Tony wasn't lying when he said it was over crowded, there had to be at least a hundred suits lining the walls of the ship, though they all seemed inactive at the time.

"Let's hurry up before they wake" Steve stated, heading towards where the signal was coming from.

"Not gonna lie, this looks like something from so many fanfictions I've read" I stated, following him.

"What is a fanfiction?" Thor asked behind me

"Nothing" I answered quickly.

"Ok the signal is coming from behind this door" Steve stated, stopping in front of a very large steel door.

"After you good sir" I replied, and with one good kick, Steve had the door flying open.

"Never going to get used to that" I spoke, following him and earning a laugh.

"There it is" Thor added, we all followed his gaze and saw a glowing blue tube.

"Ok I'll go grab it" I stated, making my way over to it.

"Be careful Lady Elizabeth" Thor warned.

"Don't worry, I did this with the Tesseract, what's the worst that could happen" I asked, grabbing the tube and yanking it front the outlet, just as I heard Tony come over the com.

"Don't take the power source!"

"Why?" Steve asked, when suddenly we heard a loud noise ring out through the ship.

"What was that?" Thor asked

"Please tell me that was not the guys in the waiting room" I replied, just in time to hear the marching heading our way.

"Looks like we'll be fighting out way out" Steve replied.

"Then let us make haste" Thor added, charging out of the room, Steve right behind him.

"Here goes nothing" I stated, flying out of the room. I could hear the sound of flesh hitting metal, but Thor and Steve were out of view, and at least fifty suits lined up in front of me.

 _'No missiles, I might hit the guys'_ I cursed, seeing that the only option I had was hand to hand.

"Who's first?" I asked, watching as the suits grabbed their guns and aimed at me.

"Very well then" I sighed, aiming at them. The next thing I knew, the sound of firing rang out, I could slightly feel it make impact with the suit. Quickly I began shooting back, taking them out one by one.

"Not to be annoying but, how come these things didn't shut off when we took the power source like the ones at the base?" I asked into the com.

"The ones outside did" Clint replied

"Because the suits at the base, and outside were just that" Tony spoke, before I heard the sound of more gun fire.

"And these aren't?" Steve asked

"These are alive" Tony replied.

"Of course, the higher ranks protect the queen" I sighed, before thinking.

"Wait…That means they have hearts" I stated, turning, and shooting one in the chest, watching as it fell.

"Well that's a lot easier" I smiled, aiming for another one. Slowly the count was less, and the boys came into view again. I was about to make my way over to them, when I found myself flying up towards the ceiling.

"The ship is coming down!" Steve yelled.

"I'm on it!" I yelled back, quickly flying out, and under the ship.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y! Power on boosters! We gotta slow this thing down!" I spoke, grabbing the underbelly of the ship and pushing back. With as high up as it was, the impact would level half of the city unless I could slow it.

"We have to slow these things down no matter what kid" Tony told me

"Trust me, I know" I replied, I watched as the city came more and more into view, the ship still falling far too quickly.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, all powers to boosters!" I commanded, kicking up the power and feeling the ship start to slow, but also feeling something else.

"Armor stability is at thirty percent ma'am" F.R.I.D.A.Y warned, but I didn't say anything, I had to slow this thing down. My mind flashed to my family…My mother.

"Armor stability is at twenty percent"

 _"Please be careful"_ I could hear my mother's voice ring out in my head _._

"Armor stability is at ten percent"

 _'Sorry mom, I may not be able to'_ I thought, feeling the arm pieces start to come loose, I watched the ground come closer and closer, glancing over, I could see the other ship was just as low.

"Armor stability is at five percent"

 _'Just a little more'_ I pushed, slowing the ship more.

"Wanda!" I heard Pietro's voice yell in the com, before I heard Wanda's voice ring out even louder.

"PIETRO!" My eyes snapped open, fear flooding my veins as I pushed against the ship, what happened? Is he ok? Though my thoughts were broken when I heard the crashing of the ship, it had made impact, one end already making a huge hole in the streets.

"Ma'am armor stability is at critical levels" F.R.I.D.A.Y announced.

"Just a little more" I spoke through gritted teeth, lowering the ship as slowly as I could. The front made impact, leaving another hole in it's wake, but it had landed slowly enough to not cause an aftershock.

"Ship two is on the ground" I told Tony.

"So is ship one, meet me at the tower with the power source, guys, take care of the rest of our little friends…Vision…Take care of him" Tony added

"Tony what happened?" I asked, quickly flying towards the tower.

"Ellie we need to focus right now"

"Is he going to be ok?"

"Ellie"

"I need to know!" I stated, the fear flooding back when silence over took the com.

"I don't know" Tony sighed. I felt the blood drain from my face, my body started to shake, and I bit back tears as I flew.

"Meet me on the roof" he told me, before going silent once more. I did as I was told, meeting him on the roof where he had brought the Tesseract and the machine it was hooked up to.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, handing him the power source, and watching as he connected them both to the Tesseract.

"We are going to overload them" He stated, telling me to stand back before he flipped a switch. We watched as the tubes shook, growing more and more violent with each passing second. We both flew up and out of the way, watched as the blue glow grew brighter and brighter, before suddenly, a shockwave of energy blew out from the objects. The power broke windows from nearby buildings, but the tubes no longer glowed. The portal in the sky slowly closed, and the others confirmed that the ground suits were taken care of.

After that, Tony had called Helen, telling her to come to the tower immediately, and bring her best people. And as I watched the others come in, I realized just how banged up everyone was…But it wasn't until I saw Vision come in with him, that everything stop. I realized this must be what he goes through when he uses his powers, everything in slow motion. I watched as Vision hurried to where the doctors were, but he seemed to go by so slowly. Pietro was pale, blood soaking the front of his shirt, his eyes were closed, and his body was limp.

"No" I breathed, images of the past two weeks flashed through my mind, and I felt tears wet my cheeks.

"Please…No" I whispered, soon feeling someone's arms around me, and hearing soft crying next to me. I realized it was Wanda, and immediately I wrapped my arms around her, finally letting the tears fall.

 _'Not him'_ I begged

 _'Please…Not him'_


	11. I can't do it

Unconscious…Or as Helen had put it…A light coma. Unconscious sounded better, it didn't make my hands stop shaking, but it sounded less serious…Less real. It had been four days so far, and nothing. He was stable, but that was it. Helen had told me that the bullet hit just centimeters from his heart…Just a hair's breath to the left and…

I shook my head, he was ok, I needed to remember that. Though I knew I couldn't focus on simply the good part, on simply the fact that he was still breathing, no, my brain would forever see the bad. What if it hadn't missed? What if the bullet hadn't been off? What if he would have…What if I would have lost him?

That thought was enough to cause the bile to rise in my throat once more, and I found myself rushing for the bathroom. How many times had I done this? How many times did I worry myself until I actually got sick? I hated it, I hated this feeling, this was what I ran from for so long.

I knew this wasn't healthy, that each day I was losing a bit of my sanity. I knew what I had to do, something that I had done all my life, and yet, at this moment seemed like the hardest thing in the world. But I knew I had to, for both of us. This time it was to save his sister, but I knew he would have jumped in front of that bullet for me as well, and I couldn't live with that.

Standing, and washing up, I exited the bathroom…But I didn't return to the chair beside him which I had sat in for the past four days. I needed to calm myself…To harden myself again. Stepping out of the room, and making my way to the main room, I was greeted by only Natasha.

"Hey" She spoke, offering me a small smile.

"Hey" I replied, only then realizing how hoarse the crying had made my voice. We both sat like that, silence overtaking the room. The quiet was only broken when Natasha sat a bowel of fruit down in front of me, taking the seat to my side.

"You need to eat something" She stated, I nodded, and began nibbling on a strawberry. I didn't feel like eating, I felt like I needed to rewind time, to tell my parents the truth and never start this whole thing with Pietro. My parents had been there to comfort me, telling me it was going to be ok, that _he_ was going to be ok, but even my mother's kind words couldn't stop this feeling growing inside of me.

"I wish I hadn't started this" I sighed, catching Natasha's attention.

"No you don't" she spoke softly

"Yes I do, if I hadn't…."I started, but couldn't finish, my words making me feel selfish.

"If you hadn't what? You wouldn't be as worried as you are now?" She asked, turning towards me.

"Ellie, I have known you for awhile now, and never once have I seen you happy, truly happy, until your family came and you had to play house with Pietro" She added, her hand resting on my shoulder. She was right, I had dated sure, but I had never been happy, not until Pietro.

"That's what's wrong" I whispered, tears forming in my eyes.

"Why is happiness wrong?" she asked

"Because it doesn't last, it never does" I stated

"You don't know that" she replied sternly.

"Yes I do, in the start it's wonderful, but then years later you start hating each other to the point that one of you has enough and leaves. Everyone leaves Nat…They always leave. No matter how much you beg them…No matter if they promise…They leave."

"El"

"And it hurts…It hurts so damn much that the only choice you have is to put walls up, to protect yourself from the inevitable….And you know what hurts the most?" I asked, looking at her, tears sliding down my cheeks.

"What?"

"When you trusted them….When you loved them" I stated, my eyes widening a bit as my own words sunk in.

"I think that says a lot" she spoke.

"…I almost lost him Nat…And it hurts so much"

"I know sweety" she replied, rubbing my back.

"I can't do it" I cried.

"I can't take this pain…If this is love…God Natasha I don't want any part of it"

"What are you going to do?" She asked

"The only thing I know how to do…My walls are down too far Nat…I can't live like this"

"I just hope putting them back up is the right thing to do" she sighed.

* * *

 **There is! Chapter 11! What does the future hold for the "couple" now that Ellie has decided to build her walls up again? You'll find out in the next chapter!**


	12. The end is near

**Ok here is chapter 12! I am working on finishing up chapter 13, so hopefully I'll have that out tomorrow everyone ^-^**

* * *

Three more days had passed, and still nothing new. I watched as he slept, Bruce and I monitoring him once more, just as we had done after Ultron. Sighing, I turned to begin putting things away, and clearing the mess that the others had created while visiting.

"Surely I must be dead this time" I heard a groggily voice behind me say, spinning around quickly, I stared wide eyed at the man.

"No way can there be an angel in front of me, twice, and I'm not dead" He smirked, even at a time like this, even when he came so close to death, he still smiled.

"Still trying that line?" I asked, laughing lightly.

"Is it working?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"Oh no mister, you aren't getting up" I stated, pushing him back down softly.

"I'm fine Printsessa" he spoke, but still I pushed him back.

"No, you need rest Pietro, you got shot, you have been in a coma for a week" I told him, making him stare at me, shocked.

"Really? A week?"

"Yes"

"And you stayed with me the whole time?" he asked, to which I nodded.

"Most of the time, your sister and the others also spent time with you" I replied

"Thank you Printsessa" he smiled, his hand coming to wrap around my torso. I could feel my body stiffen at the feeling, before I gently pulled away, trying to ignore the slightly hurt look that came across his face.

"I'll go tell Wanda that you are awake, she has been worried and blaming herself" I told him, before leaving the room.

* * *

It didn't take Pietro long to be back on his feet, though Steve told him it would be a while before he was allowed to go on missions again, just in case. Even after what happened, Pietro was still Pietro, and that was both good, and bad.

"Time to wake up Printsessa" I heard his voice whisper close to me, a smile on his lips as he kissed my cheek. I groaned, burying my face in the pillow more. He still lived with me, even if I found it hard at this point, I still had a lie to keep up, one that I found harder and harder each day.

"I don't wanna" I groaned

"Well, we could always have a lazy day" He spoke, climbing onto the bed and wrapping his arms around me. My body stiffened, I couldn't give in, my walls were finally in place again.

"My parents want to go shopping" I sighed, crawling out of bed and away from his grasp. The hurt and confusion shown on his face once more while he watched me walk to the bathroom, wondering what he did.

* * *

After that, it seemed to only get harder. Pietro was still the type to randomly wrap his arm around me, or kiss my cheek. He was still the sweet and silly guy, and still flirty as ever. I used to never see this as a problem, until now, and I knew why. I knew why it was hard not to hold his hand, I knew why it was hard not to hug him back, I knew why my heart felt like it broke a little more every time I saw those beautiful blue eyes shine with even just a sliver of hurt.

Each day that passed my heart felt heavier, each night he held me I wanted to cry. Slowly, day by day the week passed, and my families departure grew closer. The lie's ending drawing near, a day that in the beginning, I couldn't wait for, now felt like the hangman's noose. The final night came quickly, tomorrow my family would be leaving on the first flight out.

Pietro was at the tower, Bruce wanting to run some final tests on him, to make sure he would be ok for future missions. He told me he would stay at the tower tonight, the look in his eyes telling me that he knew this was the end, even if he didn't want to admit it. So tonight…I was alone, just my cat and I…This was what I wanted right? This was what I had been waiting for, to get my life back, before the lie…Before him.

 _'This was what I wanted'_ I kept repeating those words in my head, hoping that maybe if I said them enough, I would start to believe them.

 _'This was what I wanted'_ Even as I slowly sat on my bed and took in my empty surroundings, before my eyes slowly fell upon the ring he gave me.

 _'This was what I wanted'_ Even as I felt my throat clench and felt the hot tears stream down my face.

 _'This was what I wanted'_ Even as I buried my face in my hands, sobs racking my body as I cried, really cried, for the first time in years.

This wasn't what I wanted…But this is what fear had given me.


	13. Give us a chance

**This is it guys and gals, the last chapter of Plastic Marriage. First off, I just wanna say how much I love all of you, I honestly don't think I wouldn't have finished this series if I didn't have all of your love and support for it, and I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am for was just a little idea I had, and because of all of your positive feedback, it became this story that I am beyond proud of. It has had it's ups and downs, and I know some of you probably wanted to strangle me after the really feelzy chapters, but I am so happy you all stuck around. I hope that in the future, I can make more stories that you all love just as much. So here it is, the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy it, love you guys ^-^ -Ellie.**

 **Warning: Detailed smut ahead!**

* * *

The alarm woke me the next morning, my eyes were sore from crying.

 _'When did I fall asleep?'_ I wondered, looking around. The quiet settled in, reminded me that today I didn't wake up to soft snores, or light kisses.

"I better take a shower" I muttered, slowly climbing out of bed. My legs felt heavy, and my body felt drained. Turning on the hot water, I tried to relax, but it wasn't any use. I hated myself, I thought that pushing him away would make me feel better, but instead I felt even worse. The quiet house that I longed for, was now defending, and cold. I got out and got ready, my phone going off after I put my shirt on, it was him.

 _"I'll meet you at the airport"_ that was all the text said.

I sighed once more, stuffing the phone into my pocket after replying, a knock on my door told me that my parents were ready, and I headed out. I put on a smile for them, after all, my family didn't need to know that I was slowly falling apart. I talked as I normally did, telling them that Pietro said he would meet us there, and sharing jokes while I still had the chance. Once we arrived, I saw Pietro standing at the entrance, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets while he looked at the sky.

"Hello sweety" My mother smiled at him, giving him a hug.

"Sorry I couldn't ride with you, I had to take care of some stuff at the tower" He lied, a smile on his lips though.

"It's fine, I'm just glad that I get to say goodbye" My mother replied while we all made our way inside, quickly finding their gate.

"It was really good to meet ya man" Marcus said, fistbumping Pietro.

"Yeah, we're really glad Liz has you" Conner stated, shaking Pietro's hand after Marcus.

"You just make sure you take care of her" Harry smiled, shaking Pietro's hand after Conner.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all as well, and I will, if she will let me" He laughed

"She's stubborn like her mother, you just have to stick with it" Harry whispered, patting Pietro on the shoulder before he and the boys walked over to the gate, leaving Pietro and I with my mother.

"Well…This is it" My mother started, before adding.

"I'm shocked you two have been able to keep it up this long"

"Huh?" Pietro and I both asked, causing my mother to roll her eyes.

"Oh don't play dumb you two, I'm your mother Liz, you honestly don't think I can't tell when you're lying?" She smirked, causing both of our eyes to go wide…She knew?

"You knew?" Pietro asked

"Of course I knew, but I have to give you both kudos on being able to keep the lie going this long"

"I…I" I started, but was unable to find words, Pietro was just as speechless.

"I want to tell you something though, from someone who isn't new to relationships" My mother started, looking between us both.

"It was a lie, yes, but what I saw between you two wasn't. That day at the zoo, that was when it really showed. You two are more alive around each other, more free…More happy. You may have started this thing on a lie, but somewhere down the road, everything that you had been faking, became real. A mother knows how her child feels, and I can tell that you really do care for him, that was only proven when you came to me in tears when he was injured." She smiled, before turning to Pietro.

"And you, from the start, none of this has been a lie for you. The only time you lied was just now, when you said you had to take care of some stuff at the tower, when the real reason was because it hurts being around each other, because now that we are leaving, the lie is done." My mother stepped back then, looking at us both.

"I just hope, that even after we leave, you two will go back to being that alive, that free…That happy" I could feel my eyes trying to tear as I looked at my mother, she always understood me the most out of anyone, so I shouldn't have been surprised when she saw through the lie right from the start.

"I have to go now, you two be good" She added, reaching over and hugging me.

"I love you mom" I breathed

"Love you too sweety" she smiled, pulling away.

"Come here you, you aren't getting out of a hug" She laughed, hugging Pietro, who laughed and hugged her in return. We watched as she walked over to meet up with the boys before they all got on the plane. I felt like I stood there forever, my mind wondering to all of the things she said, before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"We should probably get going" Pietro told me, I nodded, turning and heading for the door.

"Can we…Can we go to your place to talk?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah" I nodded, getting into the car as he got in the passenger seat. The ride back to my building was quiet, as was the walk to my room. Neither of us spoke until we got inside.

"Why have you shut me out Printsessa?" He asked, leaning against the door while I sat on the bed.

"I…I figured it would be easier…Since the month was ending" I sighed

"She was right you know…Your mother…When she said from the start, none of this has been a lie for me" he confessed, looking at the ground.

"Pietro" I started, but went quiet when he held up a hand.

"Do you know why I volunteered? Why I said I would go along with playing your fiance?" He asked, I simply shook my head.

"It's because, ever since the day I woke up…And you were standing there…I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Every time you came over to the tower, the reason why I always flirted was because all I wanted was one chance with you. And every time we went on missions, I worried about you, I wouldn't know what I would do if something were to happen to you. Ever since I first saw you Elizabeth, I knew only one thing…I love you" He confessed, standing a few feet away. I searched his eyes for any false, but found none, he had confessed only the truth, and I wanted to as well, but fear spoke for me instead.

"I can't" I whispered.

"Why?" He asked, his tone slightly begging.

"I'm scared" I confessed, tears sliding down my cheeks.

"Scared of what Printsessa?" He asked, eyes softening.

"I know what will happen" I told him, standing.

"No you don't, and neither do I, but that is fine" He told me.

"No, it won't be fine, not for me. I'll be the one hurting in the end"

"I would never hurt you Printsessa, you must know that"

"You'll leave…They always do" I whispered, my words finally helping him understand.

"I'm not your father, I will never make his stupid mistake" he replied, his arms slowly coming to wrap around my waist.

"I will never leave you, I know you don't believe me, no matter how many times I say it, you won't. Because I know in your mind you tell yourself, that if your own parent can leave you, why can't anyone else." He spoke, before turning me around in his arms.

"But I swear that if you give me…Give us a chance Printsessa…Everyday I will prove to you that I am not going anywhere. Everyday I will show you how much you mean to me, and everyday I will show you how much I love you"

"I'm scared" I whispered.

"I know" He spoke.

"I could have lost you" I added

"I'm sorry Printsessa, but I am here, I am fine" he smiled.

"But-"

"No buts, don't dwell on bad thoughts" He added, a finger coming to rest under my chin before he tilted my head up.

"I love you" I whispered, though I was scared, my heart felt like it would crumble unless I told him. The smile that spread across his face was one I had come to know, and love, it was a real smile.

"I love you too" He whispered, leaning down and capturing my lips. The kiss was just as passionate as the one we had shared at the base, but it wasn't as rushed, it was calmer, more confident. His hands cupped my face, holding me, while his tongue lightly ran across my bottom lip. I found my lips parting before I even registered it, and the taste of his tongue ran over my pallet as he deepened the kiss.

I could feel one hand slip down you my waist, pulling me closer, while the other came to rest on the back on my head, his fingers tangling in my hair. My hands came to rest on his sides, hands fisting his shirt while I tried to draw him closer, our tongues dancing along each others, even as air was becoming needed. I didn't want to be the one to break the kiss, and it seemed he didn't either, but alas, air was needed. Pulling away, both of our breathing was heavy, and we tried to slow our heart rate.

"Printsessa" He breathed, his lips brushing softly against mine.

"Tonight, let me show you how much I love you" I knew what he was referring to, something I had never done, but in that moment, I couldn't think if anyone else I'd rather make love to.

"Ok" I breathed, before his lips descended on mine once more, lifting me up without breaking the contact. The walk to the bed wasn't long, and as soon as I was placed on the mattress, I could feel his body crawling atop mine. The kiss grew heated, and I could feel his hands lightly bunching up my shirt, stopping once he reached the bottom of my bra. His lips left mine, instead landing upon my stomach, making their way up as he pulled my shirt higher.

When my bra was completely revealed, I leaned up so he could remove the shirt, but before I could lay back down, I felt his hands behind me. He peppered the tops of my breasts with kisses while he worked to unclasp the bra, finally unhooking it, he grasped the straps, slowly sliding them down. His kisses came to rest in the middle of my chest just as he completely removed the bra, tossing it to the side, his hands slowly skimmed up my body, cupping my breasts. The moan bubbled out of my mouth before I could stop it, the sound electing a groan from Pietro as his lips explored the newly exposed skin.

"Pietro" I breathed, my hand coming to tangle in his platinum hair while his lips captured a hardened bud. Another groan left his lips, his other hand now massaging my other breast as his mouth worked. I could feel my body becoming sensitive, a fire setting in my stomach while he worked. His mouth switched to the other side, making sure to give it just as much attention.

I found myself bucking my hips against his, trying to calm the aching that his actions had caused. I heard him take a sharp breath, his body stilling, before his lips made their way back up to mine. His tongue pushed past my lips while his hands quickly unbuttoned my jeans, pushing them down far enough that I could kick them off. The kiss was broken once more, and I watched through lidded eyes as he trailed kisses down my body, stopping at my panties.

His eyes locked with mine, electric blue eyes clouded with lust as he slowly pulled down last article of clothing. I found myself squirming while he kissed my inner thighs, before making his way to my aching core. His hot breath was enough to make me gasp, but a moan ripped from my throat when I felt his tongue run along me. My hand tangled in his locks as his mouth wrapped around my clit, and I found myself moaning his name.

His finger slid along my folds, before slowly sinking in, the feeling was different, but amazing. His pace was slower than I thought it would be, as he began to pump his finger, his tongue flicking over my clit a few time, before I felt him pull away, a whimper leaving me.

"You're so wet" he spoke, slipping another finger inside, before curling them both, pulling a moan from me.

"Shit!" I gasped, my head falling back, and eyes closing as the knot grew tighter.

"You like that Printsessa?" He smirked, already knowing the answer while he did it again. His speed increased, his mouth finding my clit again. I could feel my muscles beginning to tense, the heat rising through my body, and I knew I wouldn't last much longer, especially not since he decided to keep increasing his speed.

"Fuck! Pietro!" I yelled when his fingers starts to vibrate, my voice cracking and breaking off into a moan. The sound drew a moan from him as well, causing even more vibrations to race through me. Before I could even blink I found my mouth opening, no sound coming while my eyes closed, a blinding white busting behind them. Pietro didn't slow, helping me ride out the orgasm. It wasn't until my body started to slump against the mattress again did he pull away. I watched as he slowly licked his fingers, cleaning the liquid he had created, before looking at me with a smile.

"You taste heavenly Printsessa" he whispered, capturing my lips again while his hands caressed my body once more. My hands slowly made their way to his shirt, pulling it up slightly. He smiled, getting the hint, and leaned back to remove the article of clothing. Before he could lean back down, my hands were running along the newly exposed skin, my fingers running along the lines of every muscle, and I couldn't help but smile at the sigh he released from my actions. His eyes were lidded as he watched me, my eyes and body all but worshiping his figure, before my fingers came to rest on his belt.

Our gazes met while I slowly unbuckled it, the blue of his eyes were no longer bright, but dark instead, his pupils blown as he held my stare. Once the belt was open, I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pulling them down only as far as his position would allow, which sadly, wasn't far. A smirk came to his lips when he saw my pout, and his voice broke the silence, accent thick in his husky tone.

"Do you want me to take these off Printsessa?" he asked, his thumbs coming to loop under the hem of his jeans. I quickly nodded, not trusting my own voice at the point.

"What is the magic word?" He teased, smirk still on his lips.

"Please" I replied quietly.

"There you go" He replied, leaning down and giving me a quick kiss before getting off of the bed, removing his pants, and boxers. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks while I quickly looked away, I don't know why, but suddenly I felt really embarrassed.

"Are you ok Printsessa?" I heard in my ear, before I felt him kiss down my neck.

"I-Im fine" I stuttered, my hands running along his chest once more, earning a groan from him. My fingers traced his hips, running along the v, before slowly reaching lower.

"der'mo! _(Shit!)_ " He moaned, his head resting against my neck, his hot breaths fanning my chest while I pumped him, increasing my speed.

"ono kazhetsya takim priyatnym _(It feels so good)_ " He panted, another moan leaving him, before I felt his hand on my wrist, stopping me. We stayed still for a moment, while he got himself under control, before his eyes locked with mine once again.

"You don't know how much I want that Printsessa, but tonight is about you" He stated, his lips capturing mine for a moment, before he climbed off of the bed once more, reaching into his pants and pulling out his wallet.

"Always have one on you?" I laughed, watching as he pulled out the condom.

"Let's just say, I've always hoped I'd get to make love to you" he smiled, opening the package, and rolling it on.

"Is that so?" I smiled, grabbing his arms while he positioned himself above me.

"Like I said before, ever since I first saw you, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. You are the first girl I've ever had that happen with, that's how I know I'm in love with you" he smiled, leaning down to kiss me while he lined himself up.

"Are you ready?" he whispered, I nodded, but quickly added.

"This is my first time though…So" The smile that stretched across his face was that of both joy and pride, which caused me to roll my eyes.

"Really?" he asked

"Yes" I replied.

"I'll be gentle then" he whispered, capturing my lips once more as I felt him slowly push in. The feeling was different, it only hurt a little bit, which surprised me after so many horror stories I had heard, It was more of a simple stretching feeling. And I found myself gasping when he stopped, completely filling me, and slowly grinding his hips against mine. He pulled out, before entering once more, setting a slow rhythm that soon had me meeting his movements. His breaths were coming out in pants beside me, his body tense as he tried to keep slow.

"Pietro" I moaned, earning a quick snap of his hips and a soft groan in my ear. A smile played on my lips as I realized how close he was to losing the slow pace, my body telling me how much I wanted him to.

"Pietro please" I moaned, my fingers coming up to tangle in his hair, as he pressed his lips to my neck.

"Faster" I gasped, quickly feeling him grab my leg and wrap it around his hips, before his speed started to increase, earning a moan from the both of us.

"Vy chuvstvuyete tak udivitel'no _(You feel so amazing)_ " he moaned, this thrusts becoming a bit faster, I could feel his muscles loosen a bit the faster he went, his body slowly doing what it did best. My other leg moved on it's own, wrapping itself around his waist while I felt him grab my thighs, hiking my legs up higher to reach deeper.

"Fuck!" I yelped, a hand grasping at the headboard, while the other grabbed the sheets. My eyes shut tightly as my head fell back, the extreme pleasure coursing through my veins every time he hit the right spot. I was unknowing of the eyes that were watching my every move, my yelp having set a knowing smile on his lips.

"Guess what I found Printsessa" he purred, his voice low in my ear, his lips kissed along my neck while he increased his speed again, not using his full power, yet still going much faster than a normal man. He angled himself to hit the right spot, knowing it would make me make more noise.

"Pietro!" I yelled, my grip on the headboard tightening til my knuckles were white.

"Just like that Printsessa" he gasped, a loud moan leaving him when my walls began to tighten around him.

"yeshche raz _(Again)_ " he groaned, his hand coming between our bodies, rubbing my clit quickly.

"Say it again baby" he moaned.

"Pietro" I groaned, my throat beginning to hurt a bit. I could feel the knot getting tighter, and I knew it wouldn't be long until I was reaching my second high of the night, and from the look on his face, it wouldn't be long for him either. I felt his hand leave my clit, coming up to unknot my hand from the sheets. He grasped my hand, intertwining our fingers while his forehead rested against mine, his other hand holding my thigh.

"Elizabeth" he gasped, his hot breath fanning my face.

"Pietro, I can't" I panted, my other hand leaving the headboard to tangle in his hair.

"Me either" He groaned, before capturing my lips for a moment.

"Cum for me Printsessa" he panted, his eyes shut tight as he body kept it's pace. The knot was at it's breaking point, my walls tightening while I shut my eyes. My mouth opening as I moaned, the blinding white bursting behind my eyes again as my second orgasm left my body sensitive, and my mind buzzing. I could feel his thrusts grow unsteady, my eyes opening slightly to see his jaw go slack, his hand tightening around mine as a moan left him. He continued his movements, drawing out both of our orgasms, before I felt him still completely.

"ya lyublyu tebya" he panted, his lips gently brushing mine as he translated.

"I love you" He spoke, before leaning in and capturing my lips. The kiss wasn't lustful, or hungry. It held the same passion, but it was sweet, it was caring…It was loving.

"I love you too" I smiled once the kiss was broken, a lazy smile met his lips before he got up, making his way to the bathroom to throw away the condom. He soon returned, towel in hand, making me give him a confused look, which only made him laughed.

"To clean you up" he smiled, getting back on the bed.

"Unless…You want to go again" He added with a smirk.

"I don't think I could handle that" I laughed, taking the towel from him and sitting up.

"Mmm, did you enjoy it Printsessa?" he asked, brushing my hair away from the back of my neck, and laying light kisses on the skin.

"Very much" I smiled, feeling his own smile on my skin.

"I'm glad" he replied, kissing my head, before I laid back down, him laying beside me. I felt his arm wrap around my waist, his head resting on my shoulder as laid my hand on his arm, moving the engagement ring with my fingers.

"You haven't taken it off" He noted.

"I've been busy" I smiled, causing him to smile too, before it quickly faded.

"Are you?" He asked.

"I don't know" I replied after taking a deep breath.

"I don't think you should" He stated.

"And why is that?" I asked, looking over at him, he shrugged before stating.

"Because I like being your fiance" I couldn't help but smile.

"I like being your fiance too" I whispered, knowing that he'd still be able to hear me. A smile made it's way to his lips, while he looked up at me, blue eyes sparkling.

"Really?" he asked, to which I simply nodded.

"Well then" he started, grabbing my hand and slipping the ring off, before climbing out of bed. I sat up, looking over to see him down on one knee.

"We'll do this right" He smiled, before adding

"Will you, Elizabeth Mills, be my wife?" He asked, holding out the ring.

"I would love to Pietro Maximoff" I smiled, watching as he placed the ring back on my finger, before hugging me. He rolled over, pulling me back down on the bed, on top of him.

"You know though, I'm pretty sure when a guy asks that, he's usually not completely naked" I laughed

"I figured it would make you say yes faster, after all, it did just a little bit ago" he winked, I gasped and playfully hit his chest.

"Really sir?" I asked, trying to hide the blush.

"Really" he smirked, before pulling me down into another kiss.

"I love you " I smiled, laying my head on his chest.

"I love you too, soon to be " He smiled, as we let the comfortable silence envelope us.

"So" he started after a few minutes.

"Round two?" he asked, peeking down at me. I looked up at him with a 'really?' look, before looking away and biting my lip, thinking.

"You have another condom?" I asked, earning a smile from him as he reached over and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand.


End file.
